People's SAARC
History and Evolution
South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE)
People's SAARC
People's SAARC: History and Evolution
Publication Date:
November 2014
© SAAPE 2014
Published by:
South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE)
P.O. Box: 8130, 288, Gairidhara, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel: +977-1-4004985/4004976
Fax: +977-1-400 4508
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.saape.org
Cover painting by: Raphael Ahmed (Beyond the Wall)
Printed in Nepal at SB Printers and Publications
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History and Evolution
Contents
Foreword
Introduction
Setting the Tune
iv
iv
4
Convention on Communal Harmony
South Asia Convention
Proposal for South Asia Initiative
South Asian Perspective
People’s Commission on River Water and Environment
Challenging Destructive International Aid
Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy
Towards People’s SAARC
Alternative Agenda for South Asian People’s Solidarity
People’s SAARC Takes Off
5
6
8
10
10
12
14
16
16
18
People’s SAARC 2007
People’s SAARC 2008
People’s SAARC 2010
People’s SAARC 2011
People’s SAARC India Assembly 2011
18
19
20
21
21
Annexes
23
Annex 1: Declaration of the Convention on Communal Harmony
23
Annex 2: Regional declaration on the South Asia perspective
27
Annex 3: Towards People’s SAARC: Statement of Concerns
30
Annex 4: Declaration of the People’s SAARC 1995, New Delhi, 24 July 1995
33
Annex 5: Declaration of People's Summit for People's SAARC 2005
37
Annex 6: People's SAARC Declaration 2007
40
Annex 7: People's SAARC declaration, Colombo, 2008
49
Annex 8: People’s SAARC Declaration
53
Annex 9: Statement Adopted by Trade Unions from South Asia
57
Annex 10: People’s SAARC 2010
60
Annex 11: People's SAARC Memorandum 2011 submitted to the 17th official SAARC
process
62
Annex 12: People’s SAARC India Assembly 2011
70
Annex 13: News Clippings
76
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People's SAARC
Foreword
This publication of the history and evolution of People's SAARC is about the voices of people of South
Asia to affirm their commitment to justice, peace and democracy in the region. This is also about the
vision of an alternative political, social, economic and cultural system in the region that will do away
with all distinctions and discriminations of gender, caste, religion, language and ethnicity; lead to a
situation free from exploitation and oppression. The SAARC has failed to deliver what it promises to
people of South Asia and the South Asian states and the ruling class continue to create artificial
barriers that divide lands, collectivities and minds; and transcend all boundaries. The People's SAARC
has a common platform of South Asian social movements and critical groups that create pressure for
democratisation of the society, dignity of people and distributional justice.
Began with an interaction of a small group in 1992 in Bangkok, the idea of initiating civil society
process in South Asia to extend people to people solidarity for democracy and human rights, some
South Asian groups and concerned individuals met in Kathmandu from 16th to 17th February 1993.
Representatives of civil society organisations and social movements assembled in Kathmandu on 18th19th May 1994 to discuss the ways and means to foster cooperation, solidarity and action at people’s
level in fragmented South Asia; jointly signed a declaration titled 'Toward People’s SAARC: Statement
of Concerns'. In the meantime, many of the protagonists of the People’s SAARC initiative formed a
regional alliance - South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE) in 2001. Since its inception,
SAAPE took an initiative to revive People’s SAARC process. The efforts culminated in 2004 on the
occasion of the SAARC Summit at Islamabad. Afterwards, the People's SAARC has been a common
space that more and more social movements, organisations and individuals come together to raise
the voices against poverty, injustices and marginalisation created by the ruling elites of South Asia.
We highly appreciate the contribution of Mr. Mohiuddin Ahamad – one of the founding members of
the People's SAARC for the comprehensive documentation of the emergence and development of
People's SAARC over time. We are thankful to Mr. Sushovan Dhar for his contribution in compilation of
People's SAARC processes and editing this document. Similarly, thanks are due to the members of
SAAPE secretariat Ms. Prerna Bomzan, Mr. Som Rai, Mr. Praman Adhikari, Mr. Sugat Bhattarai and
Ms. Ankur Thapa.
Hope, this publication will remain a living document to trace the history and understand the
dynamics of the emergence and development of People's SAARC as a common platform to fight
against poverty and injustice in South Asia.
Dr. Netra Prasad Timsina
Coordinator, SAAPE
People's SAARC Secretariat, Kathmandu
iv
History and Evolution
Introduction
The idea of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was
first mooted by President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh in a letter to King
Birendra Shah of Nepal on 2 May 1980. Almost identical letters were hand
delivered by special envoys to heads of government of Bhutan, India,
Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The first meeting of Foreign Secretaries of
seven South Asian countries was held in Colombo in April 1981, which set
the stage for further dialogue for a course of action for regional
cooperation. The declaration of SAARC was signed in August 1983 in a
meeting of Foreign Ministers of South Asian countries in New Delhi. Eight
objectives of SAARC were to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Promote the welfare of the people and to improve their quality of
life;
Accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural
development;
Promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in economic,
social, cultural, technical and scientific fields;
Strengthen cooperation among themselves in international
forums and with other developing countries;
Promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the
countries;
Strengthen cooperation with other developing countries;
Continue mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of
another’s problems; and
Cooperate with international and regional organisations.
The summit of the heads of governments of seven South Asian countries
was held in Dhaka in December 1985. The summit formally launched
SAARC and adopted the SAARC Charter on 8thDecember, 1985. Several
years later, Afghanistan joined SAARC as the 8th member.
While the need for regional cooperation in South Asia has become ever
more urgent, and the recognition of this fact is growing at the ground
level, the states in South Asia continue to pursue their anachronistic
1
People's SAARC
conflicts and antagonisms. SAARC has not yet been successful in bringing
any meaningful cooperation and have so far not been able to address
many of the real concerns faced by people of the region.
Although several attempts were made to conceptualise regional
cooperation and integration from a more ‘humane’ standpoint, they did
not transcend national and sectoral boundaries. When South Asian
participants heard the news of the demolition of the Babri Masjid while
attending the People’s Plan for Twenty First Century (PP21) assembly in
Bangkok in December 1992, it sparked off spontaneous protests and the
desire for coming together at the regional level. Some participants quickly
drafted a ‘protest note’ and marched to the Indian embassy in Bangkok to
hand it over to the embassy officials. They also decided to do something
concrete in South Asia.
In the beginning of 1993, civil society’s initiatives started evolving within
the framework of PP21, however, with a pro-active quest for a South Asian
agenda for people’s plan, action and solidarity. Some South Asian groups
and concerned individuals met in Kathmandu in February 1993 to chalk
out a program of action. It was the beginning of a collective journey that
continued erecting building blocks for an inclusive platform and campaign
involving the common people of the region. The phrase ‘People’s SAARC’
was used formally for the first time on 24 July 1993 in Dhaka and then on
8th November, 1993 in Kathmandu when some South Asian groups
attempted to conceptualise a South Asian vision. After a series of
consultations and going through a painstaking process, the first assembly
on “Towards People’s SAARC” took place in Kathmandu in May 1994. This
was followed by a more rigorous consultation on People’s SAARC in New
Delhi in July 1995. Thus a process of regional integration that started from
above in the early 1980s and largely eluded the people at the grassroots,
an alternative process of integration from below found its expression
within a decade.
With the change of circumstances in PP21 after its assembly in Kathmandu
in March 1996, the process of People’s SAARC was temporarily interrupted.
The process then reappeared in January 2004 in Islamabad as an outcome
of joint efforts of SAAPE and SAP and has been continuing since then with
ups and downs. Meanwhile, ground realities have changed in many
spheres, and so also the language of processes and protests. Peoples
SAARC has received widespread resonance and witnessed participation
from people’s movements of the region. The events at Kathmandu in 2007,
2
History and Evolution
Colombo in 2008, New Delhi in 2010 and Thiruvananthapuram saw
enthusiasm brimming and imaginations fired for a better South Asia. It is
also one of the leading South Asian forum where activists and intellectuals,
academics and members of civil society; all meet to articulate and share
their common South Asian dream. The dream of People’s SAARC that first
found its expression in Kathmandu in May1994 would be revisited in 2014
after a span of two decades. This would provide all concerned to look back,
scope for stocktaking, learn lessons and move forward.
In this text, it has been endeavored to dig out the past that corresponds to
organised actions towards people’s solidarity at the South Asian level. This
is not the comprehensive history of the People’s SAARC, but a narrative of
the initial years that grounded the collective dream of the people of South
Asia for a People’s SAARC and also the journey which saw its evolution in
the last two decades and more.
3
People's SAARC
Setting the Tune
People’s Plan for Twenty First Century (PP21), a civil society initiative for
achieving trans-border democracy in Asia, took off at Minamata, Japan, in
1988. During the PP21 Assembly in Bangkok in December 1992, South
Asian participants informally discussed the idea of initiating a similar
process in South Asia. As a follow up of this discussion, some South Asian
groups and concerned individuals met in Kathmandu from16th
to17thFebruary, 1993 to discuss issues faced by the people of this region on
a day to day basis. Discussions were centered round three major issues:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
South Asian realities and challenges, particularly communalism,
poverty and effectiveness of SAARC;
Reflection on PP21; and Action agenda.
As a process, participants felt that PP21 could play a catalytic role
in the ongoing efforts of the people in South Asia through
facilitating wider sharing of ideas and experiences and forging
solidarity alliance across borders.
The meeting in Kathmandu identified the following areas as a
basis for further action:
Promoting communal harmony and combating religious, and
ethnic violence;
Environmentally sustainable development and river water issues;
Economic issues: structural adjustment and its effects on the
people, possible alternatives;
Indigenous people and ethnic minorities;
Demilitarisation and denuclearisation;
Human rights; and
Overall South Asian perspective and future vision.
Seven working groups jointly prepared a preliminary outline for action.
The basic thrust was to identify groups and organisations who had been
working on these issues and set up a mechanism whereby they could help
groups to elaborate the proposal further.
4
History and Evolution
A coordination committee was formed to work until an extended meeting
was organised in the later part of 1993. Among members of the
coordination committee were Luingam Luithui, Om Srivastava, Prem
Chandran John, Sushil Pyakurel, Nighat Said Khan, Abdul Majid Mallik,
Abdus Sabur and Rajendra Wijetunga.
ACHAN, a network of health activists based in Madras (Chennai),
volunteered to function as the secretariat. It was agreed that preliminary
work would be done in each country to expand contacts and invite groups
and movements to join the South Asian process.
List of participants
Bangladesh: Abdul Majid Mallik, Rosaline Costa, Sanwara Begum Sara, F.R.
Timm, Mayenuddin Khan Badal, Habibur Rahman.
Bhutan: Om Dhungel.
India: Minar Pimple, Tapan K Bose, K M Thomas, Prem Chandran John, C H
Preetha, Buddhadeb Chaudhury, Biplab Halim, Ranjit Roy Chaudhury,
Thomas Kocherry, Shubra Hanjabam, Rajesh Tandon, Luingam Luithui,
Kamla Bhasin, Justice P N Bhagawati, Om Srivastava.
Pakistan: Anita Mir.
Nepal: Gopal Siwakoti, Sushil Pyakurel, Govinda Singh Rawat, Bhogendra
Sharma, Pradeep Nepal, B P Kahatiwada, Arjun K Karki.
Sri Lanka: Rajendra Wijetunga, A T Ariyaratne.
USA: Clarence J Dias.
PP21 Secretariat, Bangkok: Abdus Sabur, Boonthan T Verawongse.
Convention on Communal Harmony Within the framework of the South Asian process, a People’s Convention
on Communal Harmony was held in Dhaka from23rd to24thJuly, 1993.
Among participants were representatives of citisens’ groups, NGOs,
political parties, and cultural organisations. On the second day, many
victims of communal violence narrated their story of agony, plight and
persecution. In the final session, a declaration titled “People’s Plan for
5
People's SAARC
Communal Harmony”was endorsed by the participants to reflect people’s
concerns (See Annex1).
South Asia Convention A South Asia Convention was held on 26-28 August 1993 in Madras
(Chennai), which was the culmination of past efforts to bring the spirit of
Minamata and Bangkok to the subcontinent. As never before in the history
of South Asia, is this spirit sorely needed, to correct the aberrations in the
body politic of the region and to bring about grassroots democratisation.
About one hundred delegates from different countries spent three days:
the first day in communion with three hundred peasants, child workers,
dalits, tribals and others, looking in depth into common problems of the
region and making positive action plans to set in motion transformation
processes. Alliances between believers and transcending borders would
form the basis of this hope.
The convention was organised by ACHAN. The first day was dedicated to
separate workshops around issues, such as, women, fisherfolks, industrial
workers, democracy, development and human rights, urban issues,
peasants, indigenous people, environment, human rights and child labor,
dalit, and displaced people. Discussions on the second day centered round
perceptions and visions of the poor as expressed by them in the sectoral
workshops held on the first day. On the final day, working groups were
formed based on issues identified and prioritised through the process of
the previous two days. These issues were considered as most important
and necessary to be addressed immediately:
•
•
•
•
•
Militarisation; working group: Mayenuddin Khan Badal, Tapan
Bose.
Women and child trafficking; working group: Rosaline Costa.
Communal and ethnic violence; working group: Madeeha Gohar,
Kailash Satyarthi, Majid Mallik, P Tamang.
River water and environment; working group: Mohiuddin Ahmad,
Biplab Halim, Arjun K Karki.
Human rights; working group: Tapan Bose, Sushil Pyakurel, Shiva
Hari Dahal, Ravi Nair.
A steering committee for a South Asian collective was formed that
included Om Srivastava (India), Sushil Pyakurel (Nepal), Karamat Ali
(Pakistan), Mohammad Zahid (Maldives), Abdul Majid Mallik (Bangladesh),
6
History and Evolution
Rajendra Wijetunga (Sri Lanka), Prem Chandran John (India) and Abdus
Sabur (ACFOD/PP21 Secretariat). ACHAN was nominated as the secretariat.
List of participants
Bangladesh: Sanwara Begum Sara, Amita Dey, Rowshan Rahman, Rosaline
Costa, Ali Ahmed Ziauddin, Abdul Majid Mallik, Md. Abu Nayem, Habibur
Rahman, Iqbal Mazumdar, Khorshed Alam, Mohiuddin Ahmad,
Mayenuddin Khan Badal, Sharif Nurul Ambia.
India: Alpa Vora, Swami Agnivesh, Angam Tipnis, Aziz Pabaney, Bernaud
Andrews, Bhagwan Das, Biplab Halim, Fatima Burnad, Ilaya Perumal, Freda
Chandrasekaran, Felix Sugirtharaj, Harry Holloway, Rev. Isaac Kadirvel,
Jyotirmoy B R Chowdhury, Jagabondhu Ghosh, Kailash Satyarthi, J John,
Joe Madiath, Mira Shiva, Mustafa Moochalla, Mathew Koshy, Merentien
Jahir, Manubhai Shah, Nandini Das Gupta, Ossie Fernandes, Om Srivastava,
Pskiriswami, Rev. P J Premaiah, Paul N Diwakar, Prem Chandran John, C H
Preetha, S J Prabhu, Ranjit Roy Chowdhury, Ravi Nair, Sidda Reddy, A K
Sindh, Sailendranath Ghosh, Sandeep Pendse, Siddhartha, K T Suresh,
Shivraj Rao, Shubra Hanjamam, Tapan Bose, K M Thomas, R L Tiwari, Kirtee
Shah.
Maldives: Aishath Velezine, Md. Zahid.
Nepal: Arjun K Karki, Gopal Siwakoti, Govind Shah Rawat, Kundan Aryal,
Meena Poudel, Padmalai Biswakarma, Parshuram Tamang, Sushil Pyakurel,
Shiva Hari Dahal.
Pakistan: Farhat Parveen, Madeeha Gohar, Sharafat Ali, Sheema Kermani.
Sri Lanka: Rev. Isaac Kadirvel, Nimalka Fernando, Jagath Siriwardhane,
Thirunavakarasu, Upali Magedaraggamage.
Others: Jeferson R Plantilla and Muto Ichiyo (Japan), Lai Suat Yan
(Malaysia), Estrella Gonzaga (Philippines), Clarence Dias (USA)
PP21 Secretariat (Bangkok): Abdus Sabur, Boonthan T Veerawongse,
Wilaiwan.
7
People's SAARC
Proposal for South Asia Initiative As a follow up to the Madras Convention of August 1993, core members of
South Asian working group met in Kathmandu from 7th to 8th November,
1993 in connection with a conference organised by the YUVA. The main
objective was to prepare a draft proposal for the South Asia Initiative. The
group consisted of Prem Chandran John, Abdus Sabur, Karamat Ali and
Mohiuddin Ahmad. This was the first attempt to outline relevant
conceptual issues. The group concluded that:
The SAARC had not yet been able to go beyond mundane rhetorics.
Democratic institutions with the acceptable level of accountability and
transparency are very weak in the region and are still confined within
narrow limits of franchise. States as they exist today are hegemonic to their
people. Due to their divisive policies and coercive activities, South Asia has
become a hot bed of communal and ethnic violence, trafficking of women
and children, wasteful arms race and state terrorism. The people at the
grassroots are increasingly being marginalised by the states and their
dominant classes, supported and promoted by the global hegemonic
system. The people are losing their rights over their resources and
constituencies, and are being uprooted from their social and economic
base. The right to life and livelihood are increasingly being threatened. The
biggest challenge for the people in South Asia now is to fight back, to
combat divisive ideologies and coercive institutions imposed on them and
to assert power as free members of a civil society. To achieve this, the
people need to have a vision for the future, their own agenda and
concerted action.
The region has been subject to political and social fragmentation. In order
to foster solidarity, understanding and cohesion among the people,
concerted actions are necessary at the levels of ideas and institutions in
order to put forward an alternative view and paradigm. In this backdrop,
and in the context of realities of the region, series of activities are required
in several broad areas as follows:
•
•
•
•
Environment and people’s right on natural resources
Human rights and demilitarisation
Ethnic/communal harmony and right of the ethnic/religious
minorities, dalits and other oppressed groups
People’s perspective on development alternatives
8
History and Evolution
Already many activities are going on in each of these above-mentioned
areas by different forums and groups at different levels. However, there
has been little coordination between these activities, as well as among the
actors, at the trans-border level. Planned trans-border actions are
necessary in order to accelerate social activism both at the local and at the
regional level.
It is expected that after necessary preparatory work in each of the areas
mentioned above, the pertinent issues would surface with their real transborder character and would no more be narrowly handled by the people
with state-biased ideologies. This is very important in the context of
present day realities of South Asia where states and their institutions have
so far failed to address these issues because of political rivalry and other
vested interests.
The state of women in South Asia is precarious. However, ‘women’ have
not been bracketed as a separate agenda, as it may make them non-visible
in other fields of intervention. It has to be borne in mind that each issue
has a gender dimension, be it human rights or environment or militarism.
This dimension needs to be brought in every stage of study, campaign,
networking and social mobilisation.
A two year action plan is proposed to prepare the ground for fruitful
interaction among people. The plan envisages activities at three levels: at
the level of ideas, at the level of activists and at the level of the people in
the grassroots. These three levels are not mutually exclusive, but are
complementary. The methodology would be sequenced as follows:
•
•
•
•
•
Study and information communication on pertinent issues;
Interaction and exchange between social activists;
Interaction and exchange between people’s groups;
Solidarity and networking between social movements;
Influencing policymakers through campaign, lobby and
formulation of alternatives.
The South Asian process basically aims at achieving a higher level of
people’s unity for a better quality of life in a socio-economic-cultural
environment in harmony with nature. One immediate objective is to
develop and accelerate critical awareness for trans-border information and
people. We vow to fight out all obstacles hindering freedom of movement
of the common people across borders by artificial barriers created by
9
People's SAARC
dominant groups and classes. This is perceived as the basis for “People’s
SAARC”.
South Asian Perspective In the Madras Convention of August 1993, formulation of an overall South
Asian Perspective was identified as an important task. As a follow up of the
Madras Convention and the Kathmandu working group meeting of
November 1993, a small meeting was organised by ASPBAE at the PRIA
campus in New Delhi in April 1994. A team of civil society representatives
met for two days to draft a declaration on South Asian Perspective. The
team consisted of Kailash Pyakurel (Nepal), Mohiuddin Ahmad and Abdus
Sabur (Bangladesh), Rajesh Tendon, Ranabir Samaddar, Om Srivastava and
Maria Lourdes Almazan-Khan (India) and Villipuram Thirunavukkarasu (Sri
Lanka).The regional context was aptly summarised in a declaration. It
wasaimed at developing, strengthening and updating conceptual
foundation and guidance for the South Asia Initiative See Annex2).
People’s Commission on River Water and Environment Just before the Madras Convention, participants of Bangladesh, Nepal and
West Bengal held a daylong meeting in Kolkata on 24 August 1993. They
decided to form a People’s Commission on River Water and Environment.
Participants of the Madras Convention endorsed the idea. The Commission
was comprised of CDL (Bangladesh), RRN (Nepal) and IMSE (India). CDL was
nominated as the secretariat.
The Commission members first met in Dhaka on 26-27 November 1993
and decided to do a study of the Ganga basin. Main tasks of the
Commission were identified as to:
•
•
•
Make an inventory of all state-sponsored interventions in the
Ganga basin;
Study the impact of these interventions on the people and their
environment;
Interact with institutions which are working in this field and with
grassroots groups who are affected in various ways by these
interventions;
10
History and Evolution
•
•
•
Prepare independent country status report on the Ganga basin by
Commission members of respective countries by June 1994;
Meet in Kathmandu in July 1994 to discuss three country status
reports and decide about the integration of the reports; and
Launch campaign and solidarity actions on the basis of the study
as part of the endeavor to change state policy in favor of the
people on river water.
The Commission after discussion on the past, present and emerging
problems strongly felt that “viable and acceptable alternatives for optimal
use of water resources by the people of the Ganga basin is possible only
and if only integrated development programs are drawn up and
implemented taking the basin as a unit.” Among the Commission
members who participated in the meeting were Dilip Kumar Barua and
Mohiuddin Ahmad (Bangladesh), Sunil Sen Sharma and Biplab Halim
(India), and Shree Govinda Shah and Arjun Karki (Nepal).
A South Asian Convention on River Water and Environment was held in
Kathmandu from16th to -18th July, 1994. The Convention was jointly
organised by the people’s commission and RRN. The event coincided with
the second meeting of the Commission. In total, there were thirty
participants including some from outside the region. Three independent
country status reports on the Ganga basin were presented in the
Convention and were discussed in details. It was decided to hold an
extended meeting of the Commission in early 1995 to integrate and
finalise the study on the Ganga basin.
List of participants
Bangladesh: Farzana Siddique, Mohiuddin Ahmad, Dilip Kumar Barua,
Harun ur Rashid, Muniruzzaman, Abul Haseeb Khan, Sharif Nurul Ambia.
India: Meghnad, Ghunshi Soren, Samir Das Gupta, Biplab Halim, Sunil Sen
Sharma, Buddhadeb Chaudhury, Smitu Kothari, B N Aich.
Nepal: Arjun Karki, Ashish Gurung, Shree Govinda Shah, Ganesh Ghimire,
Pramod Parajuli, Gopi Upreti, Netra B Chhetri, Bharat Sharma, Nanda P
Joshi, Jhalanath Khanal.
Pakistan: Mohammad Taj, Haider Hayat.
11
People's SAARC
Sri Lanka: Jayaratna Malyagoda, Seneka Weeresinghe, D A Jayawardhana.
Others: M S Zulkarnaen (Indonesia), Kuwahara Mamoru (Japan) and Dilok
Sarawadi, Thongjareon Srihtham, Vanida Tantinitayapitak and Abdus
Sabur (Thailand).
Challenging Destructive International Aid In January 1994, a national consultation on the Campaign against World
Bank and Destructive International Aid (CAWBADIA) hosted by the
Narmada Banchao Andolon was held at Badbani of Madhya Pradesh in
India. This was followed by a South Asian meeting in New Delhi, which
decided to organise a South Asia Forum on Challenging Destructive
International Aid (SAFDIA). Accordingly, representatives from various civil
society forums gathered at Dhulikhel in Nepal from 19th to 21stJuly, 1994 to
discuss issues on destructive international aid and people’s movements.
The meeting was jointly organised by RRN and CAWBADIA. The meeting
formally launched SAFDIA and RRN was nominated to function as its
secretariat.
The campaign proposed five preconditions for the World Bank-IMF to
consider including openness and full public accountability, to reorient
economic policies in line with equitable development and an end to
environmentally destructive projects. The meeting represented two axis of
struggles. While some were involved in reforming the policies, some are
actually mobilising people to resist such projects/policies. Finally the
participants shared a common hope that “people to people” dialogue can
bring about significant understanding, sharpen vision and prepare
grounds for collective action.
One significant remark was made about the decline in states’
accountability to their own people in South Asia. The challenge is how to
democratise the state. It is generally agreed that the present
“representative democratic system” dominated by the vested interests and
reactionary forces is not delivering goods to the people. Therefore, this
system has no interest to resist the global capitalist development patterns.
A sad but necessary conclusion was drawn that people could no longer
rely on their present forms of nation-states represented by reactionary
forces to protect them from this unfolding tragedy. Although the
dominant actors in today’s global economy might have considered South
12
History and Evolution
Asia as a basket case, the elite and ruling oligarchies have not abandoned
their infatuation with the theory of trickledown effect. Their dream of
catching up with the North still lingers on, while lives of the South Asian
people are sinking in despair. People’s struggles and movements in various
forms will help to come out of the impasse.
Several new programs and areas of joint deliberations were identified in
the meeting. These are mainly as follows:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Coordinated action at the regional level on mega projects
including displacement
Comparative studies on South Asian economies
Cultural programs at the regional level
Closer collaboration with the “fifty years is enough” campaign
which has been initiated by several groups in the USA
A critical look at Indian aid and its impact on other South Asian
countries
Act towards forming a People’s Parliament at the South Asian
level
Participants signed a Dhulikhel Declaration against Destructive
International Aid and Structural Adjustments. Participants
emphasised the following in the declaration:
We, the participants of this South Asian forum, demand from our
governments, international financial institutions and bilateral donors that
aid should not be linked to conditionality. We also demand that the
outstanding external debt be written off. We are of the opinion that we
should consciously pursue autonomous development policies arising
endogenously from the region as a whole that strengthen national and
regional self-reliance, and promote social justice and ecological
sustenance. A South Asian civilisational alternative has to be evolved.
Towards this end, we pledge to work together for strengthening alliances
of South Asian people’s organisations and movements. We commit
ourselves to create wider awareness on the adverse impact of the new
economic regimes and to mobilise our people to struggle for alternative
development in South Asia.
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People's SAARC
List of participants
Bangladesh: Farzana Siddique, Mohiuddin Ahmad, Harun ur Rashid,
Muniruzzaman, Abul Haseeb Khan, Sharif Nurul Ambia, Tofazzal Hossain,
Abdus Sabur.
Bhutan: R P Subba.
India: Dalip Swami, Smitu Kothari, Kavaljit Singh, Jaya Srivastava, Dinesh
Abrol, J John, A J Vijayan, Valiathura Trivandrum, D Barreto, Awadesh
Kumar, Meghnad.
Nepal: D R Khanal, Pramod Parajuli, Shiva Maya Tumbahangphe,
Parshuram Tamang, Ashish Gurung, Tej Ram Poudyal, Ganesh Ghimire,
Bimal Chapagain, Gopi Upreti, Arjun K Karki, Parthibeshwar P Timilsina.
Pakistan: Shahrukh Rafi Khan, Karamat Ali, Ismat Shahjahan, Prof. Karamat
Ali, B M Kutty.
Sri Lanka: Senaka Weerasinghe, Jayaratna Malyagoa, D A Jayawardana, M
S R Wijetunga.
Others: Lori Udhal (USA).
Pakistan‐India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy The idea of a Pakistan-India people’s convention grew out of the
recognition among a section of the people in both countries that a people
to people dialogue across the border can effectively reassert the voice of
peace and sanity over the cries of war hysteria of the governments of the
two countries.
Preparatory work for such a convention on peace and democracy began
with a meeting in Lahore on 2nd September 1994, where a group of
concerned citisens from India met a group of Pakistani citisens and agreed
on four basic issues around which a campaign could be launched in both
the countries:
•
•
Outlawing war and attempts to create war hysteria;
Denuclearisation and reversal of arms race;
14
History and Evolution
•
•
Peaceful and democratic solution of the Kashmir problem
involving Kashmiri people;
Curbing religious intolerance.
The Lahore meeting which set up the People’s Forum for Peace and
Democracy was followed by a series of regional meetings in different parts
of India, as well as in Pakistan, evoking tremendous positive response
among peace activists, artists and social workers. Participants of the Lahore
meeting were:
India: Nirmal Mukherji, Rajni Kothari, K G Kannabiron, Dinesh Mohon,
Gautam Navlakha, Kamal Mitra Chenoy, Teesta Setalvad, Tapan K Bose,
Amrita Chachi.
Pakistan: I A Rehman, Khaled Ahmad, Haroon Ahmad, Karamat Ali,
Mubarak Ali, Mehdi Hasan, Shahid Kardar, Madeeha Gohar, Nighat Saeed
Khan, Hussain Naqi, B M Kutty, Anees Haroon, Iftekharul Haq, Rashid
Ahmad, Mubashir Hasan.
This led to the second meeting of representatives of these groups and
committed individuals from India and Pakistan in Delhi on 25-26
November 1994, where the participants signed a joint statement asking
their governments to honor their wishes for genuine peace and friendship
between two countries; a democratic solution of the Kashmir dispute; and
the signing of an unconditional no-war pact between two governments.
The Delhi declaration was endorsed by organisations of physicians,
academics, journalists, lawyers, trade unions, writers, artists and social
activists. Among the participants were:
Pakistan: Mubashir Hasan, Haroon Ahmad, Beena Sarvar, Madeeha Gohar,
Karamat Ali.
India: Nirmal Mukherji, Dinesh Mohon, Sumanta Banerji, Gautam
Navalakha, Tapan K Bose, Kamla Bhasin, Teesta Setelvad, Achin Vanaik,
Kamal Mitra Chenoy, Anuradha Chenoy, Rita Manchanda, Amrita Chachi,
Smitu Kothari, E Deenadayalam.
The increasing pace of activities around the desire for a people-to people
dialogue found their ultimate expression in the Pakistan-India People’s
Convention on Peace and Democracy convened by the forum. In New
Delhi, 100 delegates each from Pakistan and India assembled from 24th 25th February, 1995 and freely discussed issues of concerns. They
15
People's SAARC
demonstrated the popular urge to come to an agreement on contentious
issues which have kept the ruling elite of the two countries locked in a
never-ending conflict.
Towards People’s SAARC Representatives of civil society organisations and social movements
assembled in Kathmandu from18th -19th May, 1994 to discuss ways and
means to foster cooperation, solidarity and action at the people’s level in
the fragmented South Asia region. The assembly was organised by the
South Asian Forum on Human Rights (SAFHR). Participants deliberated on
issues that they had been discussing all these years at the regional level
and jointly signed a declaration titled Toward People’s SAARC: Statement
of Concerns. A team of representatives of the participants marched in a
procession to the SAARC secretariat and submitted a copy of the
declaration to the Secretary General of SAARC (See Annex3).
Alternative Agenda for South Asian People’s Solidarity An assembly of representatives of various people’s organisations of South
Asian countries was held in New Delhi during 21-24 July 1995 to discuss
the Alternative Agenda for South Asian People’s Solidarity. It is widely felt
that the SAARC has not been able to meet the aspirations of the people of
this region. During its one decade of existence, the SAARC has, in fact,
ignored the basic issues of the people.
It was in this background that the representatives of the people’s
organisations of SAARC countries held this consultation to explore an
Alternative Agenda. The consultation was jointly organised by INSAF,
PILER, INSEC and PP21. The steering committee for the assembly was
comprised of Rajendra Sail, Anand Swaroop Verma, Abdus Sabur,
Mohiuddin Ahmad, Karamat Ali, Sushil Pyakurel, Sarath Fernando and
Tenzing Zangpo.
The concept of People’s SAARC was discussed by the participants to
emphasise the need for people to people cooperation in South Asia. The
idea was to help strengthen the forces of the region which seek to
contribute to peace, freedom, democracy and equality in the larger
interest of the people of South Asia. Drawing upon the region’s common
16
History and Evolution
history, shared eco-system and fundamental values, the participants
expressed that there were strong bases for extensive regional cooperation.
Participants decided to consolidate and strengthen the process of the
People’s SAARC. A Coordination Committee comprising country
coordinators was formed to steer the process until a broad-based
convention is held in next six months to one year period. The country
coordinators were Mohiuddin Ahmad (Bangladesh), Tenzing Zangpo
(Bhutan), Anand Swaroop Verma (India), Sushil Pyakurel (Nepal), Karamat
Ali (Pakistan) and Sarath Fernando (Sri Lanka). INSAF was nominated as the
interim secretariat for People’s SAARC.
Participants signed a declaration (See Annex4) and members of the
coordination committee met the Speaker of the Lok Sabha (Lower House
of Indian Parliament) and formally handed over a copy of the declaration.
17
People's SAARC
People’s SAARC Takes Off
In the meantime, many of the protagonists of the People’s SAARC initiative
formed a regional alliance, SAAPE in 2001. Since, its inception SAAPE was
keen to revive People’s SAARC process. The efforts culminated in 2004 on
the occasion of the SAARC Summit at Islamabad. People’s SAARC event at
Islamabad was held at the joint initiative of SAAPE and SAP International.
A People's Summit for People's SAARC 2005 was held at Dhaka during the
thirteenth SAARC Summit. A declaration was issued on this occasion (See
Annex5)
People’s SAARC 2007 The SAARC Summit was scheduled at New Delhi from 3-4 April 2007. At a
meeting organised at the sidelines of the World Social Forum in Nairobi,
Kenya in January 2007, the organisers of People’s SAARC decided to hold it
at Kathmandu instead of New Delhi. This was primarily for a few reasons;
firstly, the tremendous security enclave that was being built in and around
New Delhi for the ‘security’ of dignitaries arriving for the SAARC Summit
offered bleak possibilities of holding any civil society event at the city that
could mobilise people in large numbers. Secondly, it was also decided to
celebrate the tremendous achievement of the Nepalese people and the
success of Janandolan II by holding the People’s SAARC at this historic
location. It was also decided to send a delegation of People’s SAARC to the
SAARC Summit at New Delhi and handover the resolution and the set of
demands. SAAPE took an active role to make the event a great success.
The event generated overwhelming enthusiasm from the local population.
There were participants from all the eight countries of the South Asian
region who collectively stressed the need to address the pressing needs of
the people of the region and translate the commitments of member states
into action. The three-day People’s SAARC held at Kathmandu from March
23-25 adopted a declaration (see Annex6) vowing to work for a peoplebased democratic system of governance to develop and strengthen good
governance from the grassroots to national and regional levels.
18
History and Evolution
Of the many demands put forward, the conference called for
strengthening and institutionalising democracy, combating religious,
ethnic and gender based violence, guaranteeing sovereign rights of the
people for food, solving the problems of refugees and internally displaced
people, extending support to the struggle of the Bhutanese refugees,
promoting free media, downsising the defence budget, declaring 20072017 as SAARC Dalit decade, guaranteeing 50 percent reservation to
women in all aspects of governance and ending of all forms of indentured
labour in the region. Current MPs, former MPs and political leaders from
Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan participated.
People’s SAARC 2008 The fifteenth summit of SAARC was held in Colombo on 1–3 August 2008.
The organisers of People’s SAARC decided to hold the event in the same
city prior to the Summit, from 18-20 July 2008. The event had, by that time,
received wider response from all across the region. A Regional Preparatory
Committee was formed including civil society members from all across
South Asia to assist the Sri Lanka Preparatory Committee of People’s
SAARC 2008.
The South Asian People’s Assembly (SAPA) as a part of the process of
People's SAARC attempted to forge a vision for a People's Union of South
Asia. It witnessed participation of over 1000 Sri Lankans and 400 delegates
from other South Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh,
Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan.
Following the 29 workshops, representatives of People's SAARC resolved
to issue the Colombo Declaration as the People's SAARC Declaration (See
Annex7). The Declaration incorporated the major recommendations made
by various country consultations and workshops of SAPA 2008. It was
adopted at the plenary in the morning of the third day at the New Town
Hall. This was followed by a rally of nearly 4,000 people in the main streets
of Colombo, demonstrating their spirit of commitment and solidarity,
reflecting their unity in diversity. The colorful rally highlighted the issues of
democracy, justice, war, economic issues, etc. Creative banners and picket
boards with anti-war slogans were carried in the procession, e.g., 'no to
violence', stop the war', 'no killings', 'stop disappearances', 'end domestic
violence', 'yes to democracy', etc.
19
People's SAARC
The 2008 event with the wider participation and enthusiasm was another
milestone to the People’s SAARC process.
People’s SAARC 2010 The sixteenth summit was held at Thimpu, from 28–29 April 2010. This
was held in Bhutan for the first time. The previous host, the Maldives, had
expressed its inability to arrange the Summit due to the economic
recession. However, political conditions at Bhutan and also the lack of any
civil society initiatives there did not permit holding the event at Thimpu.
People’s SAARC. In the meantime, a Regional Steering Committee of
People’s SAARC was formed earlier in 2010 for taking the process forward.
The committee decided to hold the event at New Delhi from 22-23 April at
the Jawaharlal Nehru University Auditorium, New Delhi.
Apart from the inaugural session there were conferences and panel
discussions on ‘Climate Justice and Economic Cooperation: Impacts on
Livelihoods, the Discriminated and Human Rights’, ‘Politics of hate,
terrorism and militarism, fighting imperialism and building people’s
foreign policy’, ‘Building South Asian unity through federalism, deepening
democracy and freedom of movement’ and ‘Review of People’s SAARC
Process so far and Conceptualisation of a People’s Union of South Asia’. A
Parliamentary Forum was organised where parliamentarians from India,
Nepal and Pakistan spoke on issues affecting the people of the region.
A number of workshops were organised on Feminism, Socialism and
Ecology, Universal Social Security, Migration, Environmental justice and
livelihood rights, Climate Justice and Water, Free Trade, Health, Minorities
and Marginalised communities, Social Justice, Labour¸ Post conflict
Society, Social Exclusion, etc.
A People’s SAARC declaration (See Annex8) was issued calling for people’s
commitment to create a South Asia free from all forms of discrimination,
exclusion and domination. It urged all SAARC countries to struggle against
militarism and jingoism; and demanded reduction of military expenditure
and make this fund available for socially useful spending on public welfare
and social security for all.
People’s SAARC 2010 was attended by delegates from all the countries of
SAARC as well as delegates from Tibet and Philippines. There were
20
History and Evolution
discussions on the issues and people’s demands to be presented to the
official 16th SAARC summit at Thimpu.
A South Asia labour movement interaction workshop was organised on as
part of broader People’s SAARC summit held in New Delhi from the 21-23
April 2010. The workshop issued a statement (See Annex9)
Seminar on the Right to Repartition of Bhutanese Refugees: Sharing
testimonies by Bhutanese refugees with South Asian representatives Since
SAARC Summit was held in Bhutan for the first time it was anticipated that
Bhutan would take this opportunity to showcase its success to the external
world, especially those relating to its “democratic transition” and its “well
being” as defined through the concept of “Gross National Happiness”.
However, at the same time, 108,000 stateless Bhutanese people were living
in 7 refugee camps in Nepal whom the Bhutanese authorities refused to
take back. SAAPE in coordination with the Bhutanese Refugees Civil
Society Committee held a programme on the issue of refugees at Jhapa on
April 25, 2010. The Bhutanese refugees shared testimonies to civil society
members from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. Thereafter, a
seminar was held which issued a statement (See Annex 10).
People’s SAARC 2011 The Seventeenth Summit was held from 10-11 of November 2011 in Addu
City, Maldives. While there were attempts to hold People’s SAARC in
Maldives during the SAARC Summit, it could not be organised due to the
inherent weakness and limitations of the Maldives Civil Society. Maldives
NGO Federation organised a meeting of a few civil society members from
South Asian countries at Male and issued a press statement (See Annex 11)
People’s SAARC India Assembly 2011 A two-day Assembly, People’s Movements Unite South Asia, was held at
Trivandrum, Kerala from 8-9 November 2011. The Assembly addressed the
question of people’s movements and their struggles and organised a
process to expand and pro-actively bring on board mass organisations and
social movements. The themes discussed at the Assembly were Democracy
and Human Rights with a special focus on people’s struggles and security
legislation in South Asia; Trade and Livelihood; Women’s Role in People’s
Movements; De-Militarisation and De-Nuclearisation; Natural Resources
21
People's SAARC
and People’s Movement; Rebuilding Labour Movement in the region;
Exclusion, Discrimination, Oppression; and Tolerance, Syncretism and
Secularism.
The assembly saw the participation of organisations representing all
sections of society and progressive perspectives which enabled the
meeting to translate into continuing solidarity across the region. The
Thiruvananthapuram Declaration was passed on this occasion (See Annex
12)
Ahmad, Mohiuddin (ed). Emerging South Asian Perspective, Nabodhara,
Dhaka, 1996.
Ahmad, Mohiuddin. Thorny Path: Regional Cooperation in South Asia, in
Asian Exchange, Volume 13, No. 2, ARENA, Hong Kong, 1997.
Ahsan, Abul (ed). SAARC: A Perspective, UPL, Dhaka, 1992.
Alliance of Hope, Newsletter of PP21, No. 1, January 1994; No.2, April 1994;
No. 3 July 1994; No. 4, January 1995, No. 5, July 1995, No. 6, January 1996;
Bangkok.
22
History and Evolution
Annexes
Annex 1: Declaration of the Convention on Communal Harmony 23-24 July 1993, Dhaka
People’s Plan for Communal Harmony
South Asia is the birthplace of many religions and a region where the
people from different faiths have lived amicably together for centuries.
Despite its historical rise and fall, the subcontinent has also succeeded in
strengthening its secular institutions and some of the values, beliefs and
practices of such institutions have made a significant contribution to
human civilisation.
The destruction of the Babri Masjid last year, however, meant destruction
of the symbol of India’s secular identity. The Babri Masjid was a symbol of
the sense of security among Indian Muslims. In its destruction, a large
section of the Hindu population misguidedly saw a vindication of their
right to assert their dominance over the Muslim minorities. The shock
waves from the demolition have rapidly traveled across the country and its
frontiers carrying in their wake bloodshed, fear and anger.
Although, following these events, the urban areas soon became tinder
boxes of communal tension, in rural areas the country’s old bond between
the two communities endured to a large extent. Nevertheless, there is no
doubt that the carefully woven tapestry of peaceful co-existence has been
stretched and in many areas the fabric held only by a slender thread of
sanity.
If the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6th was a watershed,
then the continuing bloodbath, carnage and looting in Bombay, Karachi
and Bhola was the flood. In what is one of the poorest regions of the world
where millions of children sleep hungry in the streets, do not get a square
meal in weeks and often do not have access to pure drinking water, selfseekers, power hungry politicians and their cohorts went on the rampage
with the result that everything including age-old traditions of communal
23
People's SAARC
brotherhood, came down. As the crisis developed, states and governments
took a rear seat as observers hoping to reap some benefit in the aftermath
of the carnage.
After a careful analysis of the events, we have made the following
observations:
The people, especially the minority communities, have developed a deep
sense of anger at, and distrust of, state systems i.e. the bureaucracy,
parliament and the judiciary; the police (who instead of protecting the
victims, often connive with the perpetrators), all of whom they feel have
failed them. They also include the politicians in their anger, since for the
most part they refused to risk their safe seats by calling for sanity and
humanity.
States have failed to protect their people by refusing to act to enforce the
rule of law, or to protect and safeguard the interests of minority
communities. It was observed that states instead of acting, have merely
reacted and even this was painfully slow.
Established political organisations which uphold secular and democratic
values, have failed to live up to their commitments and have not extended
effective safeguards to minority communities. Nor have they succeeded in
mobilising public opinion in favor of communal harmony. Their
commitment to the people has seldom graduated from rhetoric.
The existence of a strong communal bias in our ideology has significantly
influenced the politics of governments in the subcontinent. This has led to
massive militarisation in the region including intense competition for
production of nuclear bombs. Increased allocation of funds to the military
has meant less resources for social sectors, thus undermining efforts
towards development and the alleviation of poverty.
The institutionalisation of a form of democracy where institutions are
solely concerned with vote-seeking in order to demonstrate state sanction
for activities which only serve the interests of those with resources and
power, and the failure of this democracy to address the interests of
ordinary people has resulted in a political vacuum in which religious
fanaticism and fundamentalism have thrived.
The impact on the morale of minority communities of the violence and loss
of life and property has generated a deep sense of insecurity, which has
24
History and Evolution
seriously undermined their long-term commitment to their countries. This
has, in turn, affected the economic and social investment plans of these
communities leading to underdevelopment.
Since the state has monopolised all decision-making processes and the
people have been marginalised, the forces of religious fanaticism and
fundamentalism have gained the upper hand and, as always in situations
of confusion and uncertainty, vested interest groups have moved in fast
with carefully designed instruments for profiteering. In this process, society
has been polarised between the state and the government on the one
hand civil society on the other. While the dominant interest of the former
remains power, including state power and wealth, the civil society agenda
focused on democracy and development.
Areas such as urban slums with lower literacy, high unemployment and
poor sanitation were the worst hit.
Rural areas with a lower concentration of conflicting interest groups
experienced less violence and intimidation.
Some sectors of the civil society, with or without institutional support, and
often risking their lives, moved in and helped by trying to mobilise
community support, protection for the minorities, resettlement, food,
shelter and services and enlisting media support.
The unfortunate events which followed the controversy surrounding
Rama’s birthplace in Ayodhya, calls for increased trans-border political
action in the form of human rights education, support to and solidarity
with the campaign for communal harmony and promotion of human
values across cultures. Such people’s actions across borders must be seen
as a new beginning towards resolving issues at the people’s level and, as
such, will contribute significantly towards materialising our common
dream of a People’s SAARC.
In view of our shared observations, we, the participants, make the
following appeal to the civil society, as well as to the governments of the
region for their support in achieving what must be seen as our common
objectives:
•
We appeal to all governments of this subcontinent to compensate
the victims of communal disturbances since 6 December 1992 for
25
People's SAARC
•
•
•
•
•
•
loss of life and property and to take stern action against
perpetrators of crimes.
The convention calls on the people of South Asia to exert pressure
on respective governments to bring about constitutional changes
which will result in the separation of the state from religion. This
separation should be introduced in all spheres of public life,
especially in education and mass communication.
We appeal to all the people of this region to come forward and
bring strong cultural bonds between communities to avert future
communal discord.
We appeal to develop and strengthen networks in order to widen
the scope of SAARC and make it functional for the people.
This convention proposes the complete removal of all types of
travel restrictions within SAARC.
We appeal to all governments of this subcontinent to call a
complete halt to further militarisation, and to undertake gradual
disarmament and transfer of military expenditure to social sectors.
We appeal to all the people of the region to observe a Communal
Harmony day every year across South Asia, thus building a human
chain of communal fraternity.
List of signatories
Bangladesh: Ahmad Rafique, Mayenuddin Khan Badal, Ali Ahmed
Ziauddin, Mohiuddin Ahmad, Abdul Majidmallik, Saiful Haque, Ali Ahmed,
Habibur Rahman, Adilur Rahman Khan, Khairuzzaman Kamal, Kashem
Chowdhury, Amita Dey, Dilruba Haider, Ayesha Parul, Kamal Uddin, Mohsin
Ali, Selim Jahangir, Shirin Akhter, Sharif Nurul Ambia, Ayesha Arshad,
Bhagabati Gghosh, Ajoy Roy, Fazlul Haque Ripon, Abu Sayeed Khan, Ali
Sanowar, Baby Moudud, WahidaBanu, Ferdous Azim, Kamrun Nahar, Abul
Haseeb Khan, Sadhana Das Gupta, Iqbal Mazumdar, Tofazzal Hossain,
AbdusSabur.
India: Kailash Satyarthi, Buddhadeb Chaudhury, Sumita Chaudhury,
Ranjan Mukherjee, Arghya KusumDatta, BithalRao.
Others: Habib Chirsen (Indonesia), Imtiaz Yusuf (Thailand).
26
History and Evolution
Annex 2: Regional declaration on the South Asia perspective It is necessary in the first place to define the region, to articulate it
regionally, as well as to combine the current ethos of regionalisation with
the spirit of people’s plan for the twenty first century.
In human development index, the countries of South Asia occupy almost
the same position. Widespread illiteracy, low position of women, child
malnutrition, low wages, poor health services, heavy incidence of external
debt, unfinished agrarian reforms, fallout of structural adjustment program
at the behest of the Fund-Banks
, high
military spending, discrimination of indigenous peoples and the
minorities, communal tension, migration – all these are but some of the
problems facing South Asia region as a whole.
There are very noticeable differences among the countries of the region
such as the sise of territory, population and natural resources endowment.
Ethnically, countries are diverse from each other. Development of civic
politics and of popular movement for democracy and justice also vary from
country to country. These differences rule out any standard prescription of
development for all the countries of South Asia. Particularly, differences in
economic strength remains a forbidding factor towards regional
integration. Narrow delimitation of South Asia is another such deterrent.
Yet similarities override dissimilarities and differences. They demand that a
regional perspective be adopted. Only by defining South Asia regionally,
geographically, geo-economically and geo-ecologically, countries and
peoples of this region can negotiate the arrival of the twenty first century
and can have meaningful dialogue with other parts of Asia and the world.
Due to a shared past, problems of communal violence, ethnic unrest,
language conflicts and eviction of cross state boundaries are some of the
prevalent regional problems. Migration, water sharing, energy harnessing,
combating fundamentalism, protecting minority rights, and such other
issues have to be tackled both bilaterally and multilaterally, in other words
regionally. It isimperative to share knowledge, skills, resources and
abilities, even if at a gradual pace, in the context of a dominant agrarian
milieu, natural and man-made disasters, drought and flood, energy crisis
and adverse terms of trade with the North.
27
People's SAARC
In this age, when knowledge itself is an important component of power,
such sharing of knowledge at the primary level is important. Therefore,
whether for intra-region trade or for support to economic activities,
solidarity with democratic activism and upholding commonalities, sharing
of information and knowledge becomes crucial at all levels. Sharing is the
first step towards forming an agenda of people’s plan in and for South
Asia.
Yet, can we rely on the states of South Asia to steer this process of sharing?
These states have only brought misery, fed on rivalries, nurtured
chauvinism and jingoism, supported mutual conservatism, have looted
natural resources, arrogated to itself all power while selling their own
dignity to the masters abroad. The existing power structure stands in
direct opposition to all the popular movements, forces and formations,
and various attempts to empower the people. Elites and the ruling
oligarchies in South Asia do not have faith in the destiny of their own
region. They look to the Northern powers for succor, while these powers of
today consider South Asia a hopeless region, marginalised and damned
possibly forever.
People’s panning thus implies, opposing reactionary forces everywhere in
South Asia, criticising the existing power structure, plans and programs
and suggesting an alternative paradigm. This process has started in South
Asia sporadically within the limit of national boundaries. People are on the
move in all the countries struggling for empowerment, livelihood and
dignity. The task is to bring out the regional imperatives in this process,
regional dimensions of all future-building activities. It is a moral urge upon
the people of South Asia to realise the identity of South Asia, as well as to
reflect South Asian plurality.
In order to devise an effective process for alliance building across the
region, it is necessary to establish horizontal linkages with all types of
people’s formations. In this backdrop, it is necessary to build Alliance of
Hope around slogans of common concern irrespective of political
boundaries:
•
•
•
Right to free flow of people and information
Moratorium on all state-sponsored projects which undermine the
environment and cause involuntary displacement
Stopping arms race and to foster collective security for the people
28
History and Evolution
•
•
•
South Asian common market based on the needs and aspirations
of the people and grassroots communities
Adoption of a uniform charter of human rights based on the
principles of secularism, gender equality and cultural plurality
An effective trans-border alliance would develop and would be
strengthened if meaningful interactions and actions are facilitated
around these slogans at the level of ideas, activists and social
movements. This would form the basis for a sustainable people’s
alternative at the South Asia level which would lead us to the
twenty first century.
29
People's SAARC
Annex 3: Towards People’s SAARC: Statement of Concerns We, the representatives of mass organisations, citisens’ groups and
concerned individuals from South Asia met in Kathmandu on May 18thand
19th, 1994 and have taken stock of the problems in the SAARC region. We
are a slowly and modestly evolving regional cooperation at a people-topeople level and have now pledged ourselves to widen national and
regional dialogues towards forming and strengthening People’s SAARC.
We would like to express our deep concern regarding the following
problems. We submit that urgent strategies will have to be evolved by
states, by SAARC and by people’s organisations to constructively address
these outstanding issues. Only then can regional cooperation have a
lasting meaning.
Severe restrictions on the movement of the people and information within
the SAARC region: Also the need for uniform valid travel documents.
Militarisation: Both the increase in internal militarisation and
nuclearisation, as well as escalating intra-country conflicts. Not only does
escalating expenditure on arms and advanced military technology in the
name of defense and national security inhibit the realisation of regional
cooperation and democracy, it severely limits the realisation of people’s
security.
Violation of sovereignty by state forces of another country: For
instance, as evidenced by recent actions of the Indian police in Nepal.
Communalisation of the polity: Growing ethnic and inter-community
strife, tension and conflict, as well as state repression of religious and
ethnic minorities.
Severe trans-border ecological crisis: For example, the outstanding
conflicts surrounding the sharing and management of river water (e.g.
Ganga and Kosi).
Increasing trend towards export-oriented commodity-based agriculture at
the cost of sustainable and equitable food production.
Discrimination, exploitation and exclusion of women as equal partners
within the family and society, including the imposition of intrusive
30
History and Evolution
contraceptive devices. Also statutes which violate gender equality,
particularly concerning inheritance, marriage, divorce and guardianship.
Discrimination against and assimilation of indigenous and tribal people,
ethnic and linguistic minorities. Also discrimination on the basis of caste.
Continuing incidence of bonded and slave labor, sale and trafficking of
women and children and repression of workers’ movements.
Criminalisation of politics: The degeneration of political culture and the
increasing influence of black money and mafia forces.
Destructive development: Politics and projects which create displacement,
economic dependency and environmental degradation in the name of
development.
Increasing pressures from international and regional economic powers,
financial institutions and transnational corporations at the expense of not
only national and regional interests of social justice and ecological
sustainability in the region, including unjust and unfair agreements like
GATT which undermine both national and international sovereignty, as
well as the realisation of a strong and self-sufficient South Asian region.
Also escalating external debt which accentuates dependency on the
dictates of multinational interests.
Growing cultural pollution through western-influenced mass media.
Trade barriers and discriminatory trade policies and practices.
The continuing violation of democratic rights: Particularly the rights of
refugees. Also bilateral and multilateral treaties and conventions that are
contrary to the principles of justice, equality and sovereignty.
Non-implementation of the conventions and agreements of land-locked
countries.
The declaration of SAARC not to concern itself with serious bilateral
problems.
This is not a comprehensive list but is indicative of the range and
complexity of the problems that severely restrict the realisation of a just
and peaceful region. It is in this context we believe that a wide range of
people’s movements, citisens’ groups and individuals are attempting not
31
People's SAARC
only to respond to these realities, but to evolve a people to people
relationship towards envisioning a democratic and peaceful South Asia.
We are joining them in their efforts towards strengthening regional
cooperation.
List of signatories
Bangladesh: Mohiuddin Ahmad, Abdus Sabur, JusticeK M Subhan,
Mayenuddin Khan Badal.
Bhutan: Jiwan Pradhan, Setu Nepal.
India: D Prempati, Smitu Kothari, Anand Swaroop Verma.
Nepal: Sushil Pyakurel, Arjun Karki, Gopi Upreti, Krishna Upadhaya, K P
Siwakoti, N B Singh, B K Mainali, G Siwakoti Chintan, Pramod Kafle, G K
Siwakoti, Meena Sharma, Chandra Sreshtha, Meena Poudel, P L
Biswakarma, Shiva Hari Dahal, Shanti Kafle
Pakistan: Karamat Ali, B M Kutty, Joseph Francis, Hanif Baloch, Ashraf
Khan, M Mateen, Jawed, Bukhat Zameen, S Shaheed.
32
History and Evolution
Annex 4: Declaration of the People’s SAARC 1995, New Delhi, 24 July 1995 While the need for regional co-operation in South Asia becomes ever more
urgent, and the recognition of this fact grows at the people’s level, the
states of South Asia continue to persist in their anachronistic conflicts and
animosities. The official body for regional co-operation, the SAARC, has
failed to bring about any meaningful co-operation between the seven
states of South Asia, and has failed to address the real concerns and
aspirations of the people of South Asia. It is therefore, time that the people
of South Asia took the initiative in their own hands to build a peoples’
alliance.
We, the representatives of peoples’ movements, mass organisations,
citisens groups and concerned individuals, affirm yet again the urgent
need for regional co-operation. The process towards a People’s SAARC has
been going on for the past few years. The last meeting was held in
Kathmandu in May 1994, and adopted the Kathmandu Declaration
expressing the concerns of the people. We endorse the Kathmandu
Declaration and express our disappointment with the fact that practically
no steps have been taken to address the concerns, and realise the
objectives expressed in that Declaration.
Indeed, if anything, our states have, in the meantime, further relinquished
their responsibility to their people, and become even more coopted by the
process of re-colonisation that is presently underway. The interests of
international financial institutions, the IMF and the World Bank and
transnational corporations have become ever more entrenched. The result
has been that unprecedented levels of poverty, inequality and social and
ecological disruption now hold sway over the developing world in general
and South Asia in particular.
Responding to the urgency of the need for pooling our resources to meet
the challenges posed to the people of South Asia by this hostile inter and
intra-national order there has been a spurt of people’s initiatives in recent
years; South Asia Initiative of PP21, Pakistan India People’s Forum for Peace
and Democracy, Bangladesh-West Bengal People’s Dialogue, and IndiaBhutan People’s Dialogue are only some examples. We welcome and
endorse all these initiatives and seek to build upon their efforts.
33
People's SAARC
The People’s SAARC affirms the need for an alternate agenda that will
address the concerns and aspirations of our people, rather than those of
the microscopic elite. Such an agenda must reflect the struggle for
empowerment, livelihood and dignity of the South Asian people as a
whole. To this end we believe that the following objectives must be
realised:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
At present, there exists in South Asia severe restrictions on the
movement of people and information. This must end. As a first
step, all states in South Asia must ensure the people of South Asia
a visa-on-arrival facility.
Violent means of resolving interstate conflict must be
immediately
renounced.
Growing
nuclearisation
and
militarisation in the region pose the greatest threat to the security
of the South Asian people. We demand that our states commit
themselves to a nuclear-free South Asia, and denuclearise
immediately. Steps towards radical demilitarisation must also be
taken now, and scarce and precious resources presently wasted
on the so-called defense expenditure be redirected towards social
development.
Inter-state relations must be based on respect and equality, and
all unequal treaties should be annulled. Above all, states must
respect each other’s sovereignty. A military intervention and
espionage operation on each other’s territories is the most glaring
violation of this sovereignty.
The South Asian region has long been known for its unity in
diversity. In the colonial and post-colonial period, however, there
has been an unprecedented increase in communal and ethnicitybased politics. Such trends of inter-community strife, tension and
conflict must be reversed, and state repression of ethnic and
religious minorities must immediately stop. Also, the principle of
sovereignty cannot be used to legitimise the violation of human
rights.
The South Asian region constitutes an integrated eco-system. The
management of natural resources which the states of South Asia
share must be a joint and co-operative effort. The ecosystem and
the livelihood of communities tied to it must not be disrupted by
unilateral intervention by any state. Relatedly, we call for a
moratorium on all state-sponsored projects that cause
displacement of people and degradation of the environment.
34
History and Evolution
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Patriarchal structures presently in existence in the region must be
dismantled, and all forms of discrimination and exploitation of
women must end. The women of the region must be recognised
as equal partners in the life and development of society.
The rights of indigenous and tribal people must be recognised as
sacrosanct, and all forms of discrimination and forcible
assimilation of their communities must stop.
Bonded and slave labor, trafficking of women and children and
the repression of workers’ movements are some of the most
dehumanising practices that now exist in the region. All such
exploitative practices must end.
Even those states of the region that have democratic structures in
place can hardly claim to be truly representative and democratic.
All states must commit themselves to democratic
decentralisation. Relatedly, the criminalisation of politics that has
badly damaged representative democracy in the region must end.
The states of South Asia must resist encroachment by
international and regional economic power, financial institutions
and transnational corporations, and protect the interests of the
people against these neo-colonial powers. To counter these
powers, trade barriers and discriminatory trade policies must be
removed to facilitate the creation of a SouthAsian common
market.
The people’s right to self-determination must be recognised as
inviolable by states.
The convention and agreements on land-locked countries must
be implemented and transit routes opened up.
The South Asian states must show their commitment to the
universal declaration of human rights, and a joint people’s
tribunal for adjudication of human rights violations must be set
up.
The SAARC Charter must be revised to allow the discussion of
bilateral issues, and must reflect the aspirations of the people. We
commit ourselves to working with people’s groups and
organisations to realise these objectives, and appeal to all political
parties and citisens groups to join hands in furthering the same.
35
People's SAARC
List of signatories
Bangladesh: AinoonNaher, RahatFahmida, SohrabHasan, AdilurRahman
Khan, LutfurRahmanShahjahan, Mohiuddin Ahmad, AbdusSabur.
Bhutan: NaradAdhikari, ViswanathChhetri, DilmayaSubba, RatanGazmere,
Om Dhungel, SukhBahadurSubba, HariAdhikari, Bangalay, TenzingZangpo.
India: Samsher Singh Bishat, Buddhadeb Chaudhury, Prem Chandran
John, Balraj Puri, Biplab Halim, Kailash Satyarthi, Vinod Raina, Justice Ajit
Singh Bains, Nabin Mundu, Arun Srivastava, Iayaprakash Rao, Asghar Ali
Engineer, Bishop A George Ninan, Reggie Gomes, K N Panikkar, Aditya
Nigam, D Prempati, B D Sharma, Kuldip Nayar, Monoranjan Mohanty,
Kavaljeet Singh, Dalip Swami, Sunilam, Anand Swaroop Verma, Rajendra
Sail, Sandeep Pendse, Anil Chaudhury, Qamar Agha, Arun Kumar Singh,
Philip Jadav, Ajit Muricken.
Nepal: Nanda Bahadur Singh, Yogesh Bhattarai, K C Uddav, Krishna
Upadhyaya, Badri Prasad Kathiwada, Sushil Pyakurel, Keshab Prasad Badal.
Pakistan: M B Naqvi, B M Kutty, Sheema Kermani, Nauman Naqvi, Karamat
Ali, Nadira Alvi.
Sri Lanka: Nirmala Das, Nimalka Fernando, Vasudeva Nanayakkara,
Sritunga Jayasuriya, Sarath Fernando, U D M Seelawathic, Freddy Ganage.
36
History and Evolution
Annex 5: Declaration of People's Summit for People's SAARC 2005 5-6 February 2005
This representative assembly of civil society organisations and networks of
South Asian countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri
Lanka) condemns the unwarranted postponement of Summit of the
SAARC head of states and calls for immediate convening of the Summit to
discuss the current social, political and economic issues.
The People's assembly have been deeply devastated and grieved by the
Tsunami disaster and offer their heartfelt sympathies to the survivors and
express concern over neglect of states in providing relevant information to
citisens and failing to forewarn the people. We also express anger and
shock over mishandling of the post-disaster situation, failure in creating
systems to reach the victims and delivery of relief and assistance in
rehabilitation. We recognise that disasters in our era are magnified by the
failure of policy and poor governance, beyond natural phenomena. We
appreciate unprecedented generosity and benevolence of the people of
the world and call for an effective mechanism to coordinate the relief
efforts. We endorse the priorities and commitments made in the World
Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) framework of action. We urge
an effective South Asian system with sound organisational structure to
share expertise, knowledge and hydro-meteorological information.
This assembly views with concern the recent development in Nepal and
the suspension of fundamental rights and civil liberties as unacceptable. It
calls for the restoration of basic human rights and democracy in Nepal
forthwith. The states must not be allowed to suspend fundamental rights
and civil liberties under any pretext. Rights to information and
communication as fundamental rights of respective citisens must be
ensured.
The People's Summit expresses concern over the rapidly growing
militarisation of the states in the name of national interest and security.
Such policies are detrimental to peace and democracy in the region and
give rise to extremism, intolerance, confrontation and conflict. It therefore
demands an end to recent arms deals and immediate reduction in military
expenditures.
37
People's SAARC
We urge immediate negotiations without pre-conditions among SAARC
states on existing and potential conflict-generating issues such as
territorial disputes, shared water resources, and hydrocarbons resources.
The Assembly demands the suspension of all mega hydroelectric projects
that adversely affect the lives and livelihoods of millions and call for
development of a mutually agreed code of conduct for projects that
negatively impact neighbouring countries.
The assembly demands the right to live in a peaceful environment, not
threatened by national nuclear policies and demands immediate freese on
all nuclear designs, missile systems. We urge the states to take express
measures for the eradication of nuclear weapons to make South Asia a
nuclear free zone. Further, states should enhance culture of peace through
dialogue, change in curricula and media.
The Summit notes that a majority of our people depend on agriculture for
livelihood and food security. It reiterates the urgent need for measures for
land reforms and land rights for indigenous people with special efforts for
the inclusion of the people of coastal and resource poor areas. It calls for
legislation on rights of people employed in the informal sector such as
domestic and agriculture workers.
Recognising the ever-increasing global interdependence, we welcome
mutually beneficial cooperation between countries and regions; however
we deplore the trends of corporate culture promoted adversely affecting
marginalised and poorer sections of South Asia. The assembly strongly
urges the states to abolish monopoly of MNCs over patent rights and
corporate farming.
The Assembly advocates a comprehensive mechanism to deal with
voluntary repatriation of refugees and internally displaced persons
keeping in view the refugee situation in almost all the SAARC countries.
South Asia should be a refugee free zone. Also required are measures to
protect the rights of the migrant workers.
The Assembly denounces the privatisation of basic services mainly water,
health, education and power, and demands an end to neo-liberal
economic guidelines detrimental to the survival of poor and marginalised
people.
The Assembly urges all states to ratify and implement the SAARC
Convention on Trafficking of Women and Children. We urge the ratification
38
History and Evolution
of the Regional Victim/Witness Protection Protocol to "Combating
Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Women and Children in
South Asia" and the establishment of a Regional Tribunal for Protection of
Trafficked Persons.
The gathering takes serious note of gender disparity and insensitivity in
various National policies and practices and demands from the SAARC
states to implement gender equality in all areas of national control and
influence. The state parties should take actions for increased participation
especially of women and excluded sections of the society in decisionmaking bodies at all levels through affirmative actions.
To advance good governance throughout South Asia, we advocate policy
action by all states in two areas: to establish stronger legal frameworks and
implementation of devolved local government, and to institute reservation
of seats for women to at least one third of all elected bodies at all levels of
government.
The assembly reiterates the need for ratification and implementation of
various United Nations international and regional conventions, covenants
and treaties signed by the states.
The participating organisations committed themselves to bringing these
messages to their governments and to report on their progress at the next
People's Summit.
39
People's SAARC
Annex 6: People's SAARC Declaration 2007 Democracy, Justice and Peace
25th March 2007, Kathmandu, Nepal
We, the participants of people's SAARC from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,
Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka met from 23rd to 25th March 2007
at Kathmandu to affirm our commitment to justice, peace and democracy
in the region. We also affirm and commit ourselves to the vision of an
alternative political, social, economic and cultural system in the region that
will do away with all distinctions and discriminations of gender, caste,
religion, language and ethnicity; lead to a situation free from exploitation
and oppression; inaugurate a climate in which each individual will have
the opportunity, in concert with the collectivity; realise the full
development of her or his human potential; restore the balance and
harmony with nature; liquidate the artificial and human barriers that divide
lands, collectivities and minds; and transcend all boundaries. Such a South
Asia must be the goal of the people of this region and of their solidarity.
Shared socio-cultural history of the region
We, the people of South Asia, not only share a contiguous geographical
space but also a social and cultural history that shapes our life styles, belief
systems, cultural particularities, material practices and social relationships.
Our natural environments are related, interdependent, and form elements
of a common eco-system. There is a similarity in our life practices. Our
belief systems and cultural practices have been influenced by each other
which exhibit distinct similarities. On the other hand, the unique diversity
of our region in all aspects has enriched the common heritage, and we
celebrate a sustained history of mutual respect for one another.
However, we also recognise the reality that the ruling elites in the post
colonial period within our respective countries, have kept the people of
our region apart through the creation of walls of suspicion, hostility,
intolerance, dis- and mis-information and the prevention of interaction
amongst the people, in order to maintain their status-quo over their
societies. Whilst recognising the existence of the identities and natural
boundaries of the people in the region, we note with concern that one of
the mechanisms for the creation of spurious consent and fraudulent
legitimisation for the rule of the ruling class and systems of oppression and
40
History and Evolution
exploitation is due to the constant creation of suspicion and fear among
neighbours leading to constant insecurity over the national security and
hence to militarisation. This system also creates ideal conditions for the
advancement of paranoia, war hysteria, militarisation, proliferation of
nuclear weapons and dominance of the armed security forces along with
an ultra– nationalist ideology, which self-righteously curbs democratic
debate and dissent on many vital issues.
The formation of SAARC was welcomed by the people across the region, as
it aroused the hopes and aspirations amongst them for a better South Asia
and the hope that SAARC would enhance people-to-people linkages, free
flow of people across the borders of the region and mutual cooperation
amongst people to build a strong, vibrant societies as well as create a new
era of prosperity; of a qualitatively more humane, egalitarian, secular
(promoting religious harmony, respecting each other’s religious and
cultural beliefs), democratic, ecologically balanced, socially just and
sustainable societies hitherto unknown in the region.
The Present Predicament
However, contrary to expectations, the official SAARC failed to fulfil the
promised goals of a better South Asia. Instead economic policies pursued
by ruling classes and parties of the region created conditions of exclusion
and marginalisation, denial of rights, justice and democratic freedom in
different countries of the region.
As a result, South Asia and its people stand at a very testing and critical
crossroad in the history of the region. The logic and thrust of the policies
and programmes of SAARC have failed to address the issue of sovereignty
of the people, including their economic, social and cultural rights.
The present crisis calls for a new response. The globalisation of South Asia
and its people, buttressed by the Structural Adjustment Policies (SAP),
spells doom on the economic front; presents a threat even to the existing
democracy and unleashes the demon of communalism and
fundamentalist intolerance; increases disparity and discrimination; erodes
livelihood opportunities; withdraws existing services and facilities, and
instead encourages militarisation and gender violence; and brings forth
social and cultural deprivation. This process further reinforces and
reconstitutes exploitative and oppressive structures in newer and newer
forms.
41
People's SAARC
Finally, it breaks up the social cohesion by the degradation of the human
spirit. All this is, of course, in the name of progress, development,
modernisation and reform.
Changing Politics of the Region
The states seek to control and contain all potential or actual discontent
through strict regulation and use of naked force. The actual solutions vary
depending on specific situations. From monarchic or military dictatorships
to exercise of dictatorial power under the guise of democracy and to
'functioning' formal democracies, all variations exist in the region. In
substance, the regimes severely restrict the rights of the people,
particularly through modifications of labour laws and limits on legitimate
protests in words and action.
The rulers direct popular wrath against soft false enemies. Chauvinism,
nationalism, and fundamentalism thus flourish under covert or overt
state/ruling class patronage. Border conflicts, national chauvinism, ethnic
strife, religious fundamentalism, or revivalism thus dominate politics. The
major causality is of course democracy – in concept, institution or practice.
The state as an instrument for the peaceful resolution of various forms of
social conflict remains fragile as political institutions have been robbed of
their relevance and there grows the danger of the whole normative
framework of democracy becoming undermined. Ironically, while the state
has abdicated its social responsibility, it has equipped itself with draconian
powers of control, legal or extra legal, which aim to curtail people’s rights
of movements and legitimate forms of organisation and protest.
Our system has constructed political, constitutional, administrative and
developmental mechanisms in a manner that denies the masses the
rightful access to the instruments necessary for realising these rights. The
parliamentary, democratic processes in one way has provided a space for
legitimate social action but, on the other hand, the system has exploited
each and every situation of crisis and has taken away these democratic
rights of the masses and imposed the laws and rules that in reality have
spelt a flagrant violation of the spirit of people, of their own constitution
and the commitment to uphold the principles of human rights. These laws
have empowered security forces to arrest citisens without warrants and
detain them without trial for long periods.
42
History and Evolution
Torture, custodial rape and extra-judicial killings have become common
occurrences.
Neo-liberal growth model and marginalisation and exclusion
The last three decades of this century have witnessed an unprecedented
neo-liberal growth model that has severely and even violently restructured
the region’s economic policies and cultural life of the people.
Inequality and exclusion are not merely the extravagant outcomes but the
results of systematic distortion of the system which have been put forth
again to form the very logic of the new paradigm for sustaining the growth
and permanence of the system. The growing economic power of TNCs and
MNCs and the role of international financial institutions, as well as unequal
and unfair trade relations under the WTO regime have resulted in severe
erosion of our sovereignty, means of livelihood, agriculture and
destruction of natural resources.
Agriculture
Agriculture along with related activities is the main stay for millions of
people in South Asia. A vast majority of the population of almost all
countries in the region survive on subsistence and small scale agriculture.
The current economic trends have plunged agriculture into a crisis and
particularly the cultivating peasantry is in deep distress. Corporate logic,
single cash crops, dependence of corporate seeds, fertilisers, and
pesticides as well as vulnerability to vagaries of the market has made
agriculture cash intensive. This has pushed the cultivating peasant into a
debt trap that often becomes a death trap. Millions are forced to sell off
their land and become urban destitute in search of any means of
livelihood. The forcible acquisition of land of the peasants in the name of
development compounds this problem. The increased over-urbanisation
in South Asia is an indicator of agrarian destitution and transfer of the poor
from the countryside to the cities.
Dangerous Moves
The governments of the north and south – including those of South Asia
inspired by the strange logic of their multilateral donor’s indulgement in
policies and moves – all in the name of progress and development – have
increased the stranglehold of capital and large corporations over the
people and their lives. These grandiose schemes seriously undermine the
43
People's SAARC
living standards and livelihoods of the people. The achievements so far of
so called Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in South Asia are
minimal, hence there is a strong doubt that majority of these goals will be
achieved by the set date line of 2015. Moreover, the livelihood needs of
the people are urgent and need to be addressed with an urgent action, so
it is ridiculous to ask people to wait until 2015. Also the MDGs have failed
to take into account the gender dimensions of poverty. We therefore, fear
that these may prove to be the essential mechanisms to pave the way for
an entry of private capital into all sectors including public services and
supply of essential commodities rather than addressing the fundamental
needs of the marginalised group of people.
While we laud and support all voluntary free exchange between the
people of the region, we are very suspicious of market driven and
dominated mechanisms like the South Asia Free Trade Area that may
further exacerbate the inequalities and disparities in the region and in turn
intensify poverty.
The SAARC states should first give an honest account of their
achievements in the fields on which they have made public commitments,
for example reduction in poverty.
Gender Justice
Women in South Asia are particularly the victims of all kinds of oppression,
exploitation, and violence that are now a feature of this region. Traditions
as well as modern forms of patriarchy have pushed the women into virtual
servitude in various forms. Violence is perpetrated against them in various
ways and forms. We believe that all actions and struggles for democracy,
justice and peace will have to put women in the centre of their thinking.
None of these can be achieved unless gender equity and justice is
simultaneously achieved.
We affirm:
The participants are unanimous that today's economic globalisation is
unequal, inequality enhancing, socially unjust and disruptive. It must be
firmly resisted; as it represents the triumph of corporate capitalism which
totally restructures the economic, social and cultural life of the people in
the region. We resist the dominance of financial capital which imperils the
world's monetary equilibrium. It transforms states into mafias. It
44
History and Evolution
proliferates hidden sources of capital accumulation such as trafficking,
arms race and child slavery. It is time to refuse the dictatorship of money.
We shall unitedly work to develop and strengthen people based
governance systems from grassroots to national and regional levels. We
also affirm that organic and sustainable agriculture is an imperative for
food security at the household, local and national levels based on the ageold practices and knowledge systems of our ancestors.
We also commit ourselves to conserve biodiversity, land, water and marine
ecosystems and marine life and simultaneously resist the intellectual
property rights imposed by the northern countries as a mechanism to take
away the living resources of the people of the South. We also commit
ourselves to reduce the hostilities and tension in the region which can
release critical energies and scarce resources towards the betterment of
the living conditions of the masses in the region.
We the people of South Asia, unitedly in solidarity declare that we are not
enemies of each other, that we do not want war against each other, that
we do not want to be armed into starvation. We further call upon all the
governments of different countries in the region to cease all covert and
overt hostilities, to resolve all disputes through amicable dialogue to
immediately reduce tensions, to decrease the militarisation of the borders
and to take urgent steps to bring about total disarmament in the region.
We demand the following immediately:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ensure (barrier) free mobility of people across the region by
guaranteeing the notion of visa free South Asia;
Strengthen and institutionalise democracy, human rights and
justice and proportional participation of women at all level of
state and civil society institutions.;
Demilitarise and denuclearise the states and its machineries;
Promote communal harmony within and between communities,
societies and states;
Combat religious, ethnic and gender based violence and outlaw
all types of fundamentalism;
Address environmental sustainability as an urgent priority;
Protect biodiversity, water, forests, fisheries and other natural
resources from which the majority of the people derive their
livelihood; protect indigenous community wisdom;
45
People's SAARC
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Guarantee women’s rights to be free from all kinds of
discrimination and live a life without any form of violence;
Guarantee sovereign rights of the people for food;
Respect independence of all judiciary and judicial systems;
Solve the issues of refugees and IDPs; support just struggle of
Bhutanese refugees;
Respect the right to information and promote free media;
Promote gender equality in all spheres - economic, social, political
and cultural; Make provision for at least 50% reservation to
women in all political, social and economic spheres of the society;
Make firm commitments regarding state obligations to provide
health, education and basic needs; considering women’s right to
their body, sexuality and reproduction and make special provision
for women’s access to health care from women’s perspective;
Stop the free trade model that has been responsible for increasing
poverty, trafficking of human beings, food insecurity and
environmental destruction in the region;
Freese defence budget and cut it at least by 10%. This amount
should be diverted to social development. We realise that the
lavish spending on weapons by poor South Asian countries is one
of the major causes of rampant poverty in the region. We also
demand that India and Pakistan stop arms race and give up
nuclear weapons which pose great threat to 1.5 billio n
inhabitants of this peaceful region;
Globalisation has resulted in eroding labour rights; we demand
SAARC states to ensure enforcement of Core Labour Rights at
work places including Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and
informal sector of work;
Stop using state force against their own citisens in the name of so
called war on terror and stop operating as agents of America by
allowing land to be used as military bases;
Declare 2007-2017 as SAARC Dalits rights decade with enactment
of concrete Acts, policies, programme and action plans;
Formulate separate policies for Himalayan and mountainous
regions because of regional specificity and ecological sensitivity of
this region;
Broaden the definition of violence against women (VAW) and
provide justice to victims of all forms of violence. VAW is not only
46
History and Evolution
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
limited to physical or mental violence, but also all forms of
discriminatory practices against women;
Ban use of genetically modified seeds and organisms. Urgent
action is needed to save the genetic contamination of the vast
biodiversity of the SAARC region;
Stop commercialisation of basic education; ensure right to
education for all; treat equally to all students in terms of fee
payment (e.g., applicable fees should not be charged in US$
irrespective to the country of origin of the student in the SAARC
region;
Ensure rights of the children; include child rights in school
curricula and declare children as Zones of Peace;
Promote religious co-existence, cooperation and harmony among
and between the communities of the region;
Recognise labour as one of the important resources of the region
and provision of Labour Advisory Committee with the
involvement of trade unions as a formal recognised body in
SAARC;
Respect and recognise the identity of South Asian Indigenous
Peoples and ensure their social, political, economic and cultural
rights in the constitution;
Free the region from all forms of bonded labour system;
Review present SAARC Convention on trafficking in women and
children for prostitution and reformulate it from Human Rights
perspective by broadening its definition on trafficking which can
encompass trafficking for all purposes, and adding provisions
which can protect rights of trafficked persons to have access to
justice, voluntary return home and fund for appropriate support
and care;
We urge our Governments to Protect Rights of Migrants workers
and their families by signing UN CONVENTION ON MIGRANT
WORKERS AND RIGHTS OF THEIR FAMILIES 1990;
End HIV and AIDS related stigma and discrimination at all levels by
introducing and implementing progressive HIV and AIDS
legislation to protect the rights of people living with HIV&AIDS;
Guarantee the free access of HIV & AIDS related medicines
including ART for people living with HIV & AIDS with their
meaningful participation and representation at all levels of
decision making process both in state and non-state domains;
47
People's SAARC
•
•
•
Ensure the focused intervention of SAARC on HIV & AIDS;
Ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities"
(CRPD 2006) by all the countries of SAARC as state party; and
Ensure effective implementation and monitoring of CRPD 2006 so
that persons with disabilities are truly liberated from being among
the poorest of the poor, and at the extreme end of isolation,
exclusion and all forms of discrimination. This is expected to
ensure full and effective enjoyment of human rights, fundamental
freedoms and social development on an equal basis with others
as per UN standard.
The delegates also met in specific thematic workshops to discuss issues of
vital concern to the people of the region. The resolutions, declarations, and
demands of these thematic workshops that deal with specific sectors,
areas, and concerns form the Annex to this Declaration.
We conclude this declaration by:
Expressing our solidarity with the people of Nepal in their struggle for
realising loktantra and further strengthen and defend the gains of prodemocracy movement. We also call upon all the democratic forces in the
region to extend all possible support to strengthen the democratic
movement in Nepal;
Expressing our concerns of the present predicament of the peace process
in Sri Lanka, and vehemently request the parties to recommence
negotiations and end armed hostility forthwith;
We warn from the topmost range of the world ‘the Himalayan Mountains’
that the people of the region are sovereign and they are independent to
decide the way they like.
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History and Evolution
Annex 7: People's SAARC declaration, Colombo, 2008 The South Asian People’s Assembly (Colombo, 18-20 July) resolves to issue
the People’s SAARC Declaration at this gathering of representatives from
SAARC countries.
We, members of social movements, labour unions, women’s groups and
civil society organisations have gathered here in Colombo from 18-20 July
2008, as part of the process of People’s SAARC, to forge a vision for a
Peoples Union of South Asia.
This year's People's SAARC culmination in Colombo is the continuum of a
process of more than a decade. The last people’s SAARC gathering in
Kathmandu in March 2007 reaffirmed the South Asian peoples'
commitment to creating a better South Asia free from all forms of
discrimination, marginalisation and domination.
We represent a rich and wonderful diversity of cultures, languages,
religions and a multiplicity of identities and are linked by shared histories,
geographies and cultural practices.
For this to become a reality, we must take a collective stand against all
structures of oppression, discrimination and violence facing the people of
the region. We uphold the equality of all countries in the region, and
condemn attempts of any one country to dominate the region. We stand
for a secular, democratic, equal, peaceful and just South Asia. We will
ensure that those who have been traditionally marginalised from political
processes, such as dalits, women, indigenous peoples, ethnic, religious and
sexual minorities, will be in the forefront of this political project.
This involves creating a discourse on democratic and participatory political
processes which respect national and local priorities and take into
consideration the very real inequalities between the different states in the
region. We are ready to take on this challenge through resolute struggle.
We hail the people’s movements for democracy and peace and against
dictatorship and monarchy, that are ongoing in the countries in the region
After discussions and debates for three days at plenary sessions and over
thirty workshops we affirm our commitment to achieving the following
goals and aspirations:
49
People's SAARC
To build a South Asian identity based on our diversities and common
histories. We Reject bigotry, jingoism and hatred and will work towards
ensuring that enmity between countries is not propagated through
instruments such as the media and education.
Resolutely oppose intervention of USA and war exercises both in the
region and elsewhere. Reject the so called War on Terror which is nothing
but an attempt to cover up warmongering by USA and its allies to target
ordinary citisens.
South Asian countries to commit to a no-war pact and declare the region
as nuclear-free. This also involves the drastic reduction of defence budgets
and de-militarisation of the region.
Free movement of peoples in the region or in other words a visa-free
South Asia
Restoration and creation of rail, road and sea-links that meet the needs of
people. Encouraging and facilitating people- to- people contact and
communication in the region.
Peaceful and just resolution of all conflicts in the region, including those
on the border, through political negotiations, and revoking so called
national security laws that give a free-hand to state authorities to commit
atrocities against their own peoples.
Operationalisation of food sovereignty through building alliances of
women, peasants and agriculture labour. This would involve the creation
of seed and grain banks, promotion of participatory research and
sustainable technologies and the rejection of monopolitistic and
environmentally destructive technologies such as genetically modified
organisms.
Fisher people’s right to fish in territorial waters be recognised and legally
protected through proper mechanisms. Innocent fishers incarcerated for
wandering into neighboring territorial waters be immediately released.
The right to mobility is a human right. Migrants should be assured of
dignity and right of work as well as physical protection, basic amenities
and adequate wages. The victims of trafficking must be protected,
especially women and children. Similarly, the rights of individuals and
50
History and Evolution
communities subjected to forced displacement due to conflict, disaster,
and development projects should be protected.
Ensuring rights of all workers, especially women and dalit workers in
accordance with the International Labour Organisation Convention, United
Nations Covenants and National Constitutions.
The setting up of regional institutions and mechanisms such as a South
Asian Tribunal of Justice to address human rights violations. Those
responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity must be
prosecuted. Protection to be guaranteed for right of dissent, protest and
organisation. We call for the immediate release of political, social, media
activists and prisoners of conscience in the region.
Recognising the universality of visibility, opportunity, equal rights and
dignity for all people, including excluded groups and minorities: ethnic,
sexual, gender and people with disabilities. Recognise the prevalence of
patriarchy, religious extremism and caste based discrimination that deny
human dignity, socio, economic, political equality and justice to the 260
million dalits of in the SAARC countries
Achieving Climate justice by ensuring that the burden of adjustment is
borne by the elites. This requires a fundamental departure from the
current industrial and economic paradigm in the region. Also, people’s
rights to information, knowledge, skills, housing, education, health, food
security and their organisations must be fulfilled to strengthen their
resilience to hazards such as floods, droughts and cyclones.
The creation of alternative regional trade and economic co-operation
frameworks that meet the needs and aspirations of small producers and
labour. This will ensure the defeat of neo-liberal instruments such as the
World Trade Organisation and Free Trade Agreements in the region. (In the
light of current attempts to revive the flawed WTO Doha Round we
commit to work with groups across the region and elsewhere to ensure
that no deal comes out of the WTO Mini-Ministerial Meeting at Geneva
from 21-25 July 2008.)
Recognition of health, education, housing as basic human rights. The
scaling up of public infrastructure such as housing, health, education and
other civic amenities through democratic sources of development finance.
We urge equitable quality education to all children through common
school system in the region. We oppose the privatisation of these services
51
People's SAARC
and uphold the principle of basic services for all. We particularly assert the
rights of those affected by disasters.
Upholding knowledge commons, rather than monopolies of corporations.
Adoption of free and open source software and open standards in all egovernance projects. Setting up of a South Asian resources pool for free
software which enables international relations with knowledge sharing.
Unconditional cancellation
Institutions & bilateral debt.
of
loans from International
Financial
We call upon Government representatives at the 15th SAARC Summit at
Colombo to seriously address these concerns and demands of the people
of the region.
SAARC must be made accountable to the citisens of the countries in the
region.
We celebrate the struggles for democracy and resistance to neo-liberalism
and imperialism in the region and in particular the victory of the people’s
movement in Nepal. Our Peoples Union of South Asia is a rainbow
coalition of democratic forces. We pledge to continue to learn, inspire and
empower each other to realise this vision.
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History and Evolution
Annex 8: People’s SAARC Declaration April 26th, 2010
We the members of social movements, civil society organisations, labour
unions, peasant movements, other working people’s organisations and
women’s groups have gathered here in Delhi from 20th April to 23rd April,
2010 as part of the process of People’s SAARC to forge a vision for a
People’s Union of South Asia. This year’s Peoples’ SAARC is a culmination of
a process of more than a decade. It reaffirms the South Asian Peoples
commitment to creating a better South Asia free from all forms of
discrimination, exclusion and domination. It also calls for the peoples of all
SAARC countries to struggle against militarism and jingoism, and for
secularism. In our diverse societies of minorities of all kinds, a secular
society is crucial for national and societal harmony, human rights and
national unity. It calls for equal respect among all countries irrespective of
sise, and power.
All our countries are suffer and tribals have suffered more including
violence against women. It is time that we develop new paradigms of
peaceful equitable, and sustainable paths of development that truly reflect
the economic potential of our countries and meet the need of our peoples.
SAARC countries must ensure the rights of all workers, especially women,
tribal and Dalit workers in accordance with international standards
including ILO conventions, international covenants and national
constitutions. Fisher peoples’ rights to fish in territorial waters be
recognised and legally protected through proper mechanisms. Innocent
fisherfolk incarcerated for wandering into neighbouring, sometimes
disputed, territorial waters be immediately released and the presence of
deep sea trawlers and foreign vessels should be banned as these are
depleting fish stock and pursuing an unsustainable path apart from
severely diminishing the catch of the ordinary fisherfolk.
Climate change and ecological degradation have become a species threat
and a threat to the very survival of all life on the planet. Unfortunately the
South Asian governments including those like India which were part of the
BASIC alliance failed to get an equitable treaty signed at Copenhagen
because of resolute resistance by the North led by the USA. Even after the
Copenhagen document was arrived at no urgent steps have been taken
towards reversing ecological degradation, the reduction of green house
gases, all necessitating more sustainable forms of transport, construction,
53
People's SAARC
workers and peasants conditions and mining among others. It is
imperative for a Peoples union of South Asia that vast areas of Bangladesh,
parts of India and island states in the Indian Ocean are not submerged
because of a lack of commitment particularly by the North.
In all our countries Human Rights has become a critical problem. Generally
international Human Rights and Humanitarian Law is not implemented,
even if already ratified. This leads to the flagrant suppression of
movements that challenge the state, only some of which are violent. This is
true of the entire sub continent.
People’s movements to protect the forests, the rivers, and other natural
resources are often brutally repressed.
Peoples land is acquired for a relatively paltry sum in the name of
development, and their rehabilitation is well below international
standards. This of course is part of neo- liberalism. However the elites have
become exceedingly selfish, intolerant and oblivious of the suffering of the
people.
A major positive response would be facilitated at the South Asia level if
people to people contact throughout the region was facilitated. This
would enable experts and activists to interact across countries and regions
to explore possibilities of a more just, peaceful, sustainable and equitable
path of development which is also gender just. On the contrary, far from
instituting a visa free South Asia our governments are increasing
restrictions on people to people dialogue and some of these moves have
been highly retrograde. This is not only a great barrier too our goal of a
Peoples Union of South Asia, but is also a severe restriction on our efforts
to move towards that goal.
We recognise the universality of opportunity, equal rights and dignity of all
people including excluded groups and minorities; including ethnic, sexual
and the differently abled. We recognise the prevalence of patriarchy,
masculinity, religious extremism and caste based discrimination that deny
human dignity, socio-economic and political equality and justice to the
millions of backward classes and deny women sexual and reproductive
health rights in the SAARC countries.
There is need for alternate regional trade and economic framework that
meet the needs and aspirations of small and medium producers and
labour. This will ensure the defeat of neo-liberal instruments such as the
54
History and Evolution
WTO and free trade agreements in the region. We need to work out fair
trade relations within South Asia as a precondition for fair trade relations
with the rest of the world. This would also provide a democratic alternative
to neo-liberal free trade agreements. It would also facilitate a fair wage for
those in the import-export and connected sectors.
The SAARC countries must beware of imperialist machinations, designed
to overthrow pro-people regimes or to play countries off against another
to weaken SAARC unity. SAARC countries must radically cut down
expenditures on conventional arms, and move towards a South Asian
nuclear weapons free zone. This would save billions of dollars for the social
sector. These countries must avoid strategic alliances with the US and
allied powers. We urge that there be a no war pact between all SAARC
countries.
Inter-state relations must be based on respect and equality and all unequal
treaties should be annulled. Above all, states must respect each other’s
sovereignty. Military intervention and espionage operations on each
others territories is the most glaring violation of this sovereignty. Terrorism
has been a serious problem in Pakistan, India and recently in Sri Lanka.
Where these movements involve alienation or deprivation of natural
resources, there must be dialogue. Most terrorist movements are political.
Military means should not be the main method of countering them.
Fundamentalist movements who refuse dialogue should be countered.
Militarism as a State ideology is a threat to democracy and peaceful
dissent.
There should be recognition of health, education, housing, employment
and adequate food as basic rights. More investment in the social sector is
essential for a more equitable and sustainable society. The billions of
dollars spent on defense not only foster aggressive militarism but also take
away scarce resources otherwise available for the social sector and basic
human rights. We uphold knowledge commons rather than patents which
exploit our market and people. New attempts in WTO to bring generic
drugs into TRIPS must be resisted so that vital medicines for HIV, new
strains of Tuberculosis, Hepatitis and Malaria etc. do not become
unaffordable. Unconditional cancellation of loans from international
financial institutions and bilateral debt with the North, are a must for funds
for socio-economic development.
55
People's SAARC
Food banks should be set up of surplus food particularly food grains.
Remunerative prices must be given to farmers for their produce. The poor
must be provided food at subsidised prices. GM seeds should be banned.
Seeds, fertilisers and pesticides must be provided at subsidised prices,
along with diesel and electricity. Urgent steps should be taken for the
forest dwellers who should have a right to the forest produce, and food
and other subsidies in times of drought. Forest dwellers should have a
right to the forest, and the economic exploitation of the forest, though
mining and the timber trade by corporate and contractors should be
immediately stopped.
The right to mobility with dignity is a human right. Migrants should be
assured of dignity and the right to work as well as physical protection,
basic amenities and adequate wages. Safeguards for the basic rights of the
local people must be instituted. Victims of trafficking, especially women
and children must be protected. Similarly the rights of individuals and
communities subject to forced displacement, disasters and forced eviction
should be protected. Peaceful and just resolution of all conflicts in the
region through political negotiations is imperative. This will include
negotiations with the people of disputed territories.
We call upon the SAARC governments to seriously address these concerns
and demands of the people of the region. Governments must be
accountable to the citisens of the countries in this region.
We laud the democratic struggles and the resistance to neo-liberalism in
the region. Our Peoples Union of South Asia is a rainbow coalition of
democratic forces. We pledge to continue to learn, inspire, struggle and
empower each other to realise this vision.
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History and Evolution
Annex 9: Statement Adopted by Trade Unions from South Asia 21 April 2010
Since the formation of the SAARC in 1985, there has been very little
progress in promoting regional cooperation among nations and peoples in
South Asia. There exists legal and illegal trade of goods and mobility of
labour between the South Asian countries. With the negotiations on South
Asian Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA) and of South Asian Free Trade
Agreement (SAFTA) along with the other bilateral and multilateral trade
agreements including FTAs between the nations in the region, the legal
capital mobility within South Asia has not only magnified manifold but the
scope for it is ever-widening with investments from large Multi National
Corporations. This has further intensified the attack on labour in these
nations. In this context, there is a felt need among the working people in
the region for a collective response to this attack from imperialist
globalisation.
We recall that many varied attempts that have been initiated in the region
to build an alliance among trade unions in the region. Affiliates of both the
WFTU and the ICFTU in the region have on several occasions in the past
have attempted to broaden the alliance in the region. There have been
other attempts initiated by a large number of trade unions in the region
since 1996.
We draw upon the South Asian Consultation on Labour Rights, in the
context of Multilateral Trade Agreements was held in Kathmandu in May
1996 that affirmed the need for a South Asia Labour Rights Charter. It also
affirmed the principle of Universal Labour Rights as an expression of
human rights of labour in the work place, and resolved to work towards
the promulgation of a UN Labour Rights Convention. The meeting of the
trade unions of South Asia took place in Karachi in September 2003 at the
South Asia Labour Conference for Peace and Regional Co-operation. It
drew up the Karachi Declaration that called for a strengthening of the
people’s urge for peace and solidarity in the region in general and the
working classes of the region in particular. With the worsening of the
border disputes and the growing spectre of terror in the region, this effort
has also been effectively thwarted. However, there have been efforts,
albeit small, to take this process forward. The Kathmandu meeting in
57
People's SAARC
March 2007 and the meeting in Colombo in July 2008 were small but
significant steps towards this. These attempts reflect a progress towards
broad-based coalitions, reducing previous national and regional divisions
in the labour movement. It is now time for a convergence of these diverse
efforts.
Regional efforts at cooperation and building solidarity across borders can
only be sustained through a cohesive pressure from the labour movement
in the region. This requires coordination within the labour movement to
promote fraternity and peace based on a systematic coordination of ideas,
people and of institutional exchanges in order to build a process for
dialogue and consultation of all South Asian trade unions within an agreed
democratic framework. This effort should specifically promote
consultation, cooperation and solidarity of sectoral unions and in the
multinational corporations and their supply chains.
This coordination and consolidation can concretely begin with the
framework for:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Standardisation and Promotion of labour rights and regional
institution for protection
Promotion of peace and development of a People’s foreign policy
Promotion of free movement of people in the region within a
legal framework
Expansion of the scope of SAARC by inclusion of labour in its areas
of cooperation
To widen this process we propose an expanding preparatory
committee (through a list serve) of all unions who join this
process. Specific Thematic, sectoral and multinational working
groups can be developed to actualise the coordination on a
regional basis.
To deepen the engagement we call for a wider consultative
meeting of all unions of South Asia in 2010 to evolve the future of
this process and beyond it for an alliance with peoples’ movement
in South Asia.
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History and Evolution
Signed by
India
3.
4.
5.
Rajiv Dhimri, AICCTU
Satya Narayan Thakur, AITUC
Ashim Roy, NTUI
Nepal
•
Binda Pandey GEFONT
Pakistan
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Dr. Malik Baloch, National Party
Adam Malik Pakistan Peace Coalition
Chaudhary Mansoor Ahmed, PLB
Bushra Khaliq, Women Workers Helpline – Pakistan
Yusuf Baloch, National Trade Union Federation, Pakistan
Karamat Ali, PILER
Sri Lanka
1.
2.
3.
4.
S Murugaiaya, All Ceylon United Workers Congress (PSSF)
M Vijandran, Trade Union Confederation/ All Ceylon United
Fisherpeople Trade Union
Priyadarshini Aryaratna, Janavakesha
S R Edwards, Janavakesha
59
People's SAARC
Annex 10: People’s SAARC 2010 Seminar on the Right to Repartition of Bhutanese Refugees: Sharing
testimonies by Bhutanese refugees with South Asian representatives
25-26 April 2010, Birtamod, Jhapa, Nepal
Organised by: South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE) and the
Bhutanese Elderly Refugees Repatriative Committee
We, more than 50 Bhutanese refugees representing all seven refugee
camps located in Jhapa and Morang districts of Nepal and the members of
SAAPE from Bangladesh, India and Nepal, and peasant organisations,
academia, women associations and social movements from different
countries of South Asia have gathered here in Birtamod, Jhapa on April 25,
2010 on the occasion of People’s SAARC 2010 to defend the rights of
Bhutanese refugees. As an extension of People’s SAARC 2010 Delhi, India,
this one day seminar has come up with the following realisations and
demands: During our visit to the camps we found the citisens of Bhutan
living under total deprivation and in de humanised conditions. This is a
situation which must not be allowed to continue and demands immediate
all round intervention to ensure that all basic entitlements are made
available without any further delay or prevarication.
Thousands of Bhutanese citisens have been evicted from their homeland
by way of political victimisation and intolerance for the voice of
democratic dissent and forced to live as political refugees on the borders
of India and Bhutan and the refugee camps of Nepal;
This illegality and immorality have been perpetuated for more than 18
years against the norms and standards of international law and violation of
human rights;
It is high time for south Asian countries to bring pressure on the
government of Bhutan to allow the rights of the refugees to return to their
homelands and to facilitate their repatriation with full dignity, honour and
the right to equality and full participation as citisens of Bhutan;
We, on behalf of people of the South Asian nations, demand that this issue
be taken up on the agenda of official SAARC and an urgent solution found
to this aggravated humanitarian emergency prevailing along the borders
of south asia, even as the heads of the governments engage in empty
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History and Evolution
tokenism in the capital of Bhutan, thus bestowing legitimacy to an antipeople and anti-democratic government;
We also demand an immediate end to the suppression of the democratic
rights of these refugees and the gross violation of their civil and political
rights;
We demand for the formation of South Asia Refugee Commission within
the framework of SAARC to engage and take care of the refugee problems
in the region;
We take note of the inadequacy of third country resettlement of Bhutanese
refugees;
We urge the South Asian governments, particularly India, Bhutan and
Nepal to address the Bhutanese refugee’s demands to return to their
homeland. We request international community to facilitate the process of
repatriation to their homelands;
We urge that all South Asian nations follow the lead of Afghanistan and
ratify the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and enact
suitable legal framework to address the problems of the refugees; and
Finally we commit ourselves to continue activities to make South Asia a
refugee free region. We believe in solidarity, fraternity and mutual respect
for all.
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People's SAARC
Annex 11: People's SAARC Memorandum 2011 submitted to the 17th official SAARC process The Peoples' SAARC delegates assembled in Maldives have submitted the
"Memorandum" to the 17th official SAARC Summit being held in Addu City
through the office of the President of the Maldives.
The memorandum is a common aspiration primed by the representatives
of various civil society organisations in the region who have created a
parallel process called "Peoples' SAARC". The memorandum reflects the
harsh reality in connection with the status of security, peace, justice,
human rights, development, environment, refugees, migration, gender
among others in South Asia region from peoples' perspective. The
memorandum calls upon the SAARC as a regional grouping and the
member states to seise the opportunity towards engaging themselves in
serious dialogues for envisioning a region fit for over one fifth of the
world's population, a majority of which is consistently denied of rights and
deprived of basic standard of living.
The memorandum is a follows:
Memorandum
People's SAARC – A South Asian Civil Society Platform Presented to
the 17th SAARC Summit,
Addu City, Maldives 10-11 November 2011
The Context
The seventeenth official SAARC Summit is taking place at a time when
South Asian states are beginning to look inwards to realise the region's
immense political, economic and diplomatic potentials. This is reflected in
a number of initiatives undertaken by the SAARC countries to forge closer
alliances to harness these potentials. The recent developments for the
resolution of bilateral disputes between SAARC countries including IndiaBangladesh,
India-Pakistan,
Afghanistan-Pakistan,
are
certainly
encouraging and signal the SAARC states’ willingness to move beyond the
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History and Evolution
age-old divisions to work with each other as regional partners for the
growth and progress of the countries in engagement.
While the agenda of economic and social development might have moved
up as a priority item for the SAARC countries, South Asian states, at the
same time, continue to veer towards their aspirations for superior military
might. This prompts them to scale up their military budget, diverting
resources away from developmental goals, thereby compromising the
basic living standards of a large section of the region’s population. A
region that houses 23% of the total world population contributes less than
3 percent to the global GDP and houses 400 million of the world’s poor. As
a region, South Asia can hardly afford to undertake projects that
undermine the well-being and development of its people.
We, at the Peoples’ SAARC, a parallel process to the official SAARC aimed at
presenting the South Asian civil societies’ collective voices on most
pressing regional issues, have convened a series of country processes to
evolve consensus on the future direction of the SAARC process, and
consolidated the outcomes of these country processes into this regional
Civil Society Memorandum which is forwarded to the official 17th SAARC
Summit process for urgent consideration. We believe the SAARC process
should be more pro-people and committed to eradication of poverty and
injustices through regional developmental process.
Some Areas of Hope
As the representative of the civil society of the South Asian states, the
Peoples’ SAARC sees the official SAARC as a significant process to boost
regional development. However, we do underline the need for SAARC to
expand its ambit to cover all areas of political, environmental, economic
and social spheres of the South Asian region. SAARC must also strengthen
its structures to deliver on the aspirations for growth and progress of the
people of South Asia.
South Asia has recently registered substantial progress in democratic
development. All eight SAARC countries: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives and Bhutan have elected
representatives today. This is a positive development for a region that has
come to assume an important position in the world’s efforts for global
peace and development.
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People's SAARC
We are encouraged to see the recent spate of developments in the
bilateral relations of a number of South Asian states. These include the
commitment for an extended bilateral cooperation along with improved
trade ties between India and Bangladesh; the facilitation of overland
transit to Nepal from Bangladesh; the restoration of the dialogue process
between Pakistan and India – emphasised by the official machinery as
serious and “uninterruptible”, the recent announcement by the two
countries to work towards improved trade links, enhanced diplomatic
support on a bilateral level at global forums; and the execution of the
Afghan Transit Trade along with improved political links between Pakistan
and Afghanistan, to name few.
We also welcome the decision by the Government of Pakistan on granting
the status of the Most Favoured Nation to India. The decision has wideranging benefits that cover both economic and social realms. Apart from
the much desired normalisation of trade relations between the two
countries, the GoP’s move shall hopefully also pave the way for facilitating
greater people-to-people contact which shall contribute in bringing the
two nations a few steps closer to the resolution of their outstanding
disputes.
The withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan - a process that is
underway - marks the move towards the closing of a foreign imposed war
in the region. The 'war against terror' brought endless miseries to the
people of Afghanistan and Pakistan and also altered the dynamics of
engagement between South Asian states, pushing the region
unnecessarily to adopt a security posture that fuelled regional tensions
and conflicts.
We welcome the establishment and functioning of the SAARC University
and emphasise that it must specialise on social issues relevant to the
quality of life of the majority of our people such as: human rights, basic
entitlements, sustainable development, secularism, fair trade,
environmental justice and the like.
While there are some positive developments, the region is also bogged
down by a series of actions, especially those taken by the states, and
events, that bear negatively on the enjoyment of fundamental human
rights, including right to life, right to equality and access to and control
over basic services. These actions and events seek to hinder and thwart the
realisation of the massive potential of the region as a democratic,
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History and Evolution
progressive, economically developed, peaceful and stable society. We
express our concern at these developments and point these out as follows
to urge the SAARC body and the member governments to address them
on a priority basis.
Our Demands
We, the members of social movements, civil society organisations, labour
unions, peasant movements, academics, other working people’s
organisations and women’s groups from across South Asia forward the
following demands to the heads of the state meeting in Addu City in
Maldives for the 17th SAARC Summit on Nov 10-11, 2011:
We call for the South Asian states to recognise the universality of
opportunity, and equality in rights and dignity of all people including so
far excluded groups and minorities on the basis of ethnicity, gender and
the physical/mental ability. Therefore, we urge the
SAARC states to recognise the prevalence of patriarchy, masculinity,
religious extremism and caste-based discrimination that deny human
rights, human dignity, socio-economic and political equality, justice and
peace to the millions of marginalised groups and classes, in the SAARC
countries.
We urge the governments to take essential steps to ensure that South Asia
maintain its unique civilisation strength of 'unity in diversity'.
All our countries are suffering from the economic travails of neo-liberal
economic policies with rampant poverty marginalising a large section of
the population, especially women and the girl child. It is time that the
member states develop new paradigms of peaceful, equitable, and
sustainable paths of development that truly reflect the economic potential
of our countries and meet the needs of the vulnerable section of the
society such as children, the disabled, aged and all other marginalised
groups.
In all our countries full enjoyment of human rights has become a critical
problem. Generally, the international Human Rights Instruments and
Humanitarian Laws are never implemented, even if already ratified. This
leads to the flagrant suppression of peoples' movements that challenge
the state. All our states must respect universal human rights while
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managing and allocating resources, addressing internal conflicts or
external inter-state disputes and all spheres of national life.
People’s movements to protect the forests, lands, the rivers, and other
natural resources from which their livelihood is derived are often brutally
repressed by the state. Peoples land is acquired for a relatively paltry sum
in the name of development, and their rehabilitation is well below
international standards. The states must devise a system of checks and
balances for its elites who have repeatedly demonstrated the tendency to
succumb to the lure of the powerful development giants. We call the
SAARC governments to ensure development processes that must be propoor people, consultative and consensus driven with human rights as the
basic fundamental.
SAARC countries must ensure the rights of all workers, especially women
and Dalit workers in accordance with international standards including ILO
conventions, international covenants and national laws. The rights of
indigenous people should be recognised, safeguarded and promoted.
Fisher peoples’ rights to fish in territorial waters be recognised and legally
protected through proper mechanisms. Innocent fisher folk incarcerated
for wandering into neighbouring, sometimes disputed, territorial waters
be immediately released and the presence of deep sea trawlers and
foreign vessels should be banned as these are continuously depleting fish
stock and pursuing an unsustainable path apart from severely diminishing
the catch of the ordinary fisher folk.
Climate change and ecological degradation have become a threat to the
very survival of all life on the planet. Melting of snow in the Himalayas,
desertification and sea level rise are the stark phenomena that South Asian
states are facing simultaneously. Unfortunately, the South Asian
governments have taken no urgent steps towards reversing ecological
degradation, the reduction of greenhouse gases, adaptation initiatives, all
necessitating more sustainable forms of transport, construction, workers
and peasants conditions and mining among others. It is imperative that
vast areas of Bangladesh, parts of India and island states in the Indian
Ocean are not submerged because of a lack of commitment by the states
to address environmental concerns.
Increasing restrictions by the South Asian states on people-to-people
dialogue are highly retrograde. The South Asian states must facilitate
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people-to-people contact and promote solidarity throughout the region to
enable wider sections of the population to interact across countries and
regions to explore possibilities of just, peaceful, sustainable and equitable
path of development which is also gender just.
There is a need for alternate regional trade and economic framework that
meets the needs and aspirations of small and medium producers and
labourers. The SAARC states need to work out fair trade relations within
South Asia as a precondition for fair trade relations with the rest of the
world. This would also provide a democratic alternative to exploitative and
regressive free trade arrangements.
The 'terror like acts' and 'war on terror' have been serious problems in
Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and recently in Sri Lanka. Where these
movements involve alienation or deprivation of natural resources, there
must be dialogue. We urge the South Asian government to shun military
means as a method of countering them. Militarism as a state ideology is a
threat to democracy and peaceful dissent.
The SAARC states must extend recognition of health, education, housing,
adequate food, water and energy poverty as critical to maintain basic
living standards of the people of the region. Increased and accelerated
investment in the social sector by states is essential for a more equitable,
peaceful, corruption-free and sustainable society. The billions of dollars
spent on 'national defence' not only foster aggressive militarism but also
take away scarce resources otherwise available for the investment in social
sector and basic human rights promotion.
The South Asian states must uphold knowledge commons rather than
patents which exploit our heritage, markets and people. New attempts in
WTO to bring generic drugs into TRIPS must be resisted so that vital
medicines for HIV, new strains of Tuberculosis, Malaria, etc., do not become
unaffordable. There must be a knowledge commons created in SAARC
which are accessible to all people, inclusive of data, proven practices, and
science and technology cooperation.
Food banks also should aim at delivering the essential food grains to the
victims of natural calamity through a rapid response mechanism.
Remunerative prices must be given to farmers for their produce. The poor
must be provided food at subsidised prices. GM seeds should be entirely
banned. Agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilisers and pesticides must
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be provided at subsidised prices, along with necessary energy. Urgent
steps should be taken for the forest dwellers that should have a right to
the forest resources, and food and other subsidies in times of drought and
other hardships.
The South Asian states must respect the right to mobility with dignity as a
human right. Migrants should be assured of dignity and the right to work
as well as physical protection, basic amenities and adequate wages.
Survivors of trafficking, especially women and children must be protected.
Similarly the rights of individuals and communities subject to forced
displacement, disasters and forced eviction should be protected.
South Asian Governments and civil society must work together and lead
the world in the struggle for climate justice demanding legally enforceable
international standards on the lines of and beyond the Kyoto Protocol and
not succumb to the machinations of the perpetrators who want to push
for accords in place of treaties.
A monitoring body to regularly audit the compliance of the member states
with the benchmarks set to safeguard and institutionalise democracy,
human rights, justice, and the rule of law based on the SAARC “Democracy
Charter” should be established.
The long-cherished Regional Human Rights Mechanism should be created
without further delay in conformity with the principles of universally
accepted human rights standards to protect and promote human rights
and social justice of the people in the region.
An independent Climate Commission should be constituted with a view to
promote more effective mitigation and adaptation programme to climate
change to ensure environmental protection and sustainable development
at the regional level
The rights of migrant workers and their families as well as refugees should
be protected by immediately ratifying the UN Convention on Migrant
Workers and Rights of their Families-1990 and the Convention on the
Status of Refugees-1951 respectively and (barrier) free mobility of people
across the region by guaranteeing the notion of "Visa-free South Asia"
should be ensured.
Fully funded national plans to achieve universal health, education, water
and sanitation, rights to food and housing, rights to productive
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employment amongst others as a core part of the constitutional
arrangements should be ensured.
All possible measures to ensure sero tolerance on violence against women
should be exhausted and an enabling environment to promote leadership
of women from all strata of life in peace-building, security and conflict
transformation endeavors should be created.
Constitutional‚ legal and administrative framework and effectively
implement it to end social anomalies including existing caste/faith based
discrimination and all forms of problems of impunity should be
guaranteed.
Last but not the least, the large numbers of the poor and the vulnerable in
South Asia need to be freed of poverty and the attendant loss of dignity,
social protection and their rights to health, education and productive
livelihoods.
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Annex 12: People’s SAARC India Assembly 2011 Thiruvananthapuram Declaration
People’s Movements Uniting South Asia
9 November 2011
We, the participants of the People’s SAARC India Assembly 2011 met in
Thiruvananthapuram on 8-9 November 2011 to affirm our commitment to
justice, peace and democracy in the region. We also affirm and commit
ourselves to the vision of an alternative political, social, economic and
cultural system that enables social and sustainable development in the
region that will do away with discriminations based on gender, caste,
religion, language and ethnicity; lead to a situation free from exploitation
and oppression; create a climate in which each individual will have the
opportunity to realise full development of her or his human potential;
restore the balance and harmony with nature; eliminate the artificial and
human barriers that divide lands, peoples and mind; and transcend all
boundaries.
The India assembly was privileged to host vibrant social movements, trade
unions and activists from across India and abroad. Over 250 activists
participated in three plenary sessions and seven workshops on issues such
as trade and livelihoods;state repression and militarism undermining
democracy;, women in people’s movements; rebuilding labour movement;
exclusion, discrimination and oppression; and community control over
natural resources. The Assembly culminated in a colourful march to the
Kerala Secretariat.
People’s Movements Uniting South Asia
A genuine South Asian consciousness, which has been present in a
historical sense, is growing today among the peoples of this region. In
recent years the urge for regional cooperation and interaction has
manifested itself at different levels. Writers, poets, artists, scientists, social
activists, human rights and women's rights activists of South Asian
countries have initiated concrete moves towards establishing mutual
contacts and developing cooperation among themselves. This declaration
captures this paradigm shift of people’s movements uniting South Asia.
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State Repression and Militarism Undermining Democracy
The people of South Asia are witnessing the militarisation of state and
society. The dominance of militarist thinking in the governments, the
doctrine of preventive intervention and terrorism as a State policy has
prevented the strengthening of the fraternity of the people, consolidation
of the political constituency for peaceful resolution of conflict and build a
common identity for South Asian people.
The context of rising terrorism is being used by the ruling elite to shift
public opinion towards an internal security doctrine that is undemocratic,
chauvinistic and anti-people.
We condemn the increasing budgetary allocation on militarisation by
diverting resources from social welfare by the governments in South Asia.
The reduction of tensions between South Asian countries means the
reduction of defence budgets in both countries. This will have a major and
meaningful impact on the well being of each country’s citisens.
We are also alarmed by the accelerated militarisation in the region in the
name of countering terrorism, eroding democratic space, undermining
basic human rights and humanitarian law principles, which has resulted in
further terrorisation and radicalisation of the affected civilian populations.
We are deeply concerned at the expanding role of the military and paramilitary forces in the development processes including mega development
projects and extractive mining, plundering the natural resources,
marginalising and displacing the indigenous peoples inhabiting the
region. We must ensure that our governments stop militarising society by
developing the doctrine of internal security, as extensions of war concepts
into society, and creating armed forces for internal war.
We call for the inclusion of a human rights policy in the SAARC. In Sri
Lanka, India and Pakistan a vision of national security under the guise of
counter terrorism is being used as a tool for suppressing democratic
people’s movements. The dominant policies in all these states regarding
the struggles of communities over control of natural resources and against
state repression, corporate power and communal profiling of populations,
are against the will of the people. Hence there is a need for a clearly
articulated human rights policy to be included in the SAARC.
We salute the extraordinary resilience of Irom Sharmila Chanu as she
enters the twelfth year of a hunger strike in solitary confinement
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demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958,
which has chronically militarised and displaced democratic governance in
the states of the north east and Jammu & Kashmir. We must ensure the
reduction of influence and control of the military and make it accountable
and subordinate to the will of the people.
We call upon the governments of South Asia to immediately halt the futile
process of militarisation generating a spiral of insecurity and to redirect
resources and energy to build genuine democratic institutions to ensure
human security including education, health, housing and other welfare of
the people.
Women in People’s Movements
Women have played a crucial role and spearheaded several movements.
However in many movements women and those from marginalised
groups including dalits, adivasis, the disabled, minority communities and
those from LGBT groups are seldom heard or their separate needs
acknowledged. To create a larger people’s movement of South Asia this
understanding needs to be integrated so that these identities are not
submerged in larger forums and spaces but that they are included and
made visible.
We need to create ways of working across differences and identities
without making them invisible. This has to be based on principles of
human rights, commitment to equality and non discrimination focussed
on the advancement of human security and human dignity. The
intersectionalities between different movements and identities need to be
recognised and integrated so that we can look at ways of coming together.
This presents us with many challenges and complexities because in
practice it is difficult for different movements to come together.
The Women's Movement has been connecting across borders since the
1970’s. This has helped in strengthening our work, learning from each
other as well as creating stronger bonds between us. As women we have
always been suspicious of narrow nationalism and patriotism because of
how it affects women. It has also presented many complexities and
challenges in our vision of a People’s Union of South Asia. There is a need
to have dialogues across movements and borders on similar issues, we
have a lot to learn and contribute to each other’s work. However the
question is how to integrate a feminist framework of analysis and
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understanding in these various movements. This is so we can create better
integrated movements, where the voices of the marginalised are given
space as well as awareness about the intersectionalities between different
issues and themes.
Rebuilding Labour movement
Contractualisation, migration and the non-implementation of labour laws
are common issues in the region. We demand that labour be included as
an area of cooperation in the SAARC cooperation framework.
Large scale privatisation, both direct and indirect, closures and
retrenchments have led to job losses and created conditions for capital to
deny labour rights and introduce new labour practices that affect labour
adversely. In the process, Freedom of Association and Right to Organise
and Collective Bargaining, have become a casualty. We call for the
ratification of ILO core standards by South Asian countries and for the
constitution of a SAARC mechanism to ensure reporting on compliance on
ILO core standards and redressal of complaints. Further, we call upon
South Asian countries to adopt a SAARC Code of Conduct for TransNational Corporations, based on ILO's Tripartite Declaration.
The right to mobility with dignity is a human right. Migrants should be
assured of dignity and the right to work as well as adequate wages and
human working conditions. Safeguards for the basic rights of the local
people must be instituted. We demand a SAARC mechanism to facilitate
labour migration with dignity and the institution of a SAARC work permit
as a first step to institutionalise this process.
Labour movements in the region have to establish closer cooperation and
develop an organisational structure at the South Asian level. As a priority,
we need to work towards integrating different sections of workers
currently marginalised and working people not even recognised as
workers, into the ambit of labour movements, social security regimes and
within the collective bargaining framework.
Trade and Livelihoods
Current trade policy is undemocratic, pro corporate, anti environment and
adversely impacts livelihoods of South Asian peoples. Free trade
agreements implemented in South Asia such as the India-Sri Lanka FTA
have adversely impacted livelihoods of farmers, especially in the state of
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Kerala. Free trade policies under the WTO have resulted in loss of food
sovereignty due to the loss of control over tariffs and quantitative
restrictions. We call for trade and economic cooperation in the region and
oppose the current trend of advancing the FTA agenda in South Asia and
beyond.
We recognise that to bring the people in the region closer, there should be
more people to people contact and cooperation. On trade, this would
imply a paradigm shift with due process of consultation with legislative
bodies and affected groups such as farmers, fishworkers and labour.
Further any trade should be based on complementarity, environmental
sustainability, food sovereignty and should enhance livelihoods. There
should be due mechanisms to monitor the impacts of trade on livelihoods
with policies to protect and compensate any communities that could be
adversely impacted. We stand for progressive people-led regional
cooperation in South Asia and call for the normalisation of economic
relations between Pakistan and India.
Exclusion, discrimination and oppression
We express concern about the increasing incidence of state repression
against peoples who are fighting for their democratic rights. Dalits,
adivasis, sexual and gender minorities, religious minorities, human rights
defenders are under constant threat of a militarised state and corporate
greed. The struggle of the marginalised for democratic and participatory
political processes needs to be strengthened by rendering solidarity at the
South Asian level.
Community control over Natural resources
We note that the current model of development is devastating South
Asia’s natural resources. Investment zones such as SEZs that displace
people, undermine democracy and national laws and destroy the
environment must be stopped. The principle of prior informed consent of
the local communities should be followed for all projects. We note with
concern the revival of the nuclear industry despite the lessons from the
Fukushima Daichi disaster. We support the valiant people’s struggles in
Koodankulam and Jaitapur and call for a halt to these nuclear projects. We
call upon Governments to promote people centred non conventional and
sustainable energy sources.
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We call for a ban on genetically modified seeds in SAARC countries.
Governments in South Asia should stop production, distribution,
consumption and export of all Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
including endosulfan.
We call upon the people to be cautious that there is an imperialist agenda
to use so-called environmental concerns to undermine sustainable
development and livelihood needs of the people of developing countries.
South Asian coastal and forest communities are facing the brunt of socalled development and corporate greed. We call for the implementation
of progressive legislations for protection of the environment and
livelihoods in the coastal and forest regions.
++++
We resolve to deepen the Thiruvananthapuram process through continuous
interaction and consultation to enable people’s movements to express and
define the South Asian dimensions of their struggles and on that basis build a
genuine unity of South Asian people’s movements.
++++
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Annex 13: News Clippings News on the planning meeting of the People’s Commission on River Water &
Environment held in Dhaka in November 1993
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Background and context of the People’s Commission on River Water &
Environment published in an Indian daily
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News on the second meeting of the People’s Commission on River Water and
Environment and the Convention on River Water & Environment held in
Kathmandu in May 1994
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History and Evolution
News on the South Asia Water Convention held in Kathmandu in May 1994
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News on the People’s SAARC held in New Delhi in July 1995
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Interview of the Prime Minister of Nepal Manmohan Adhikari by Mohiuddin
Ahmad in November 1995 published in the Bhorer Kagoj, a Bangladesh
national daily. Mr. Adhikari expressed his disappointment about the slow pace
of the official SAARC process because of political rivalry among some member
countries.
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